Missing Puzzle Piece
by winkatthesun
Summary: Naruto finally has everything he wanted: Being Hokage, his best friend by his side and amazing friends who stick by him but to him he starts noticing that there is something...missing? And maybe, just maybe Sasuke could be of help. NaruSasu/SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

Konohagakure was the pride and joy of the Land of Fire. Being one of the biggest villages and holding a large population it was not wonder there was always something new each day. The residents of the Hidden Village of the Leaves were still bustling with energy at the newest news and the gossip was running amuck through each person.

"We haven't seen much of our new Hokage-sama, poor dear, he must be so busy."

One woman wore a motherly expression as she spoke with the cabbage vendor.

"Hokage-sama must have a ton of paperwork to do with the ongoing reconstruction of the East side of the village. I heard even the Anbu are working on it."

The man coughed as he eyed the leaping bodies on the roof, masks covering any facial expressions.

"Wasn't the East side where the Uchiha compound had been?"

The woman nodded and tugged her child's hand so that he wouldn't move away from her.

"Yes but it seems Uchiha-san doesn't want anything to do with the Uchiha land. He gave it up and said he rather have a new training field being built rather than the rotting buildings lay there wasting space."

The older man nodded, also hearing the same from his last customer.

"What worries me though is having a traitor being so close to Hokage-sama; I don't understand what went through his head when he appointed Uchiha as his head guard."

The woman shrugged and held out her bag as he placed the large cabbages inside.

"Hokage-sama seems to trust Uchiha-san so we must trust in him to make all the right choices."

On the other side of the village up on the Hokage Tower, on the very top floor the large windows were open to let in the fall air. Though no matter how comforting and gentle the breeze was the blonde whom sat on the large blue chair inside groaned and pouted.

"What's with all this paperwork?!"

He groaned again and ruffled his hair in agitation wondering if someone really needed permission to add another room in their house. It seemed absurd that such trivial things should be passed to him, the Hokage. He should be out, looking at the young Genin's train and getting excited when they ran towards him asking him to perform jutsu's for them but no, he was stuck in his office with a pile as tall as his chest of paperwork.

"How did Tsunade do this?!"

The blondes head fell on the mahogany desk and blue eyes were hid behind lids as his mind wandered. Even though it had been two months since he was named Hokage he still got a thrill of whenever someone called him 'Hokage-sama' or when he had declared the rookie nine, his best friends, to their own places where their skills would be most needed. Sakura was deemed head healer of the hospital and was kept busy most of the time training younger ones what she had learned. Hinata, and Lee all had their own Genin teams and Shikamaru worked near Naruto and was also the ambassador for the village.

Kiba and Akamaru became one of the most famous trackers in the Anbu division and often traveled with the blonde whenever he had to leave the village. Naruto thought about his friends and how with time, they all had drifted to do their own thing yet they managed to continue making plans and meeting whenever possible. His friends really were the greatest, Uzumaki Naruto thought with a smile. It was at that moment that his nose caught one of the best odors ever possible. The smell was behind the door and with a single knock the person on the other side didn't await a reply instead waltzed in as if he owned the oval office.

The spiky black hair and long bangs was a dead giveaway but even if the nearly six foot man was covered from head to toe the Neko mask was easily recognizable. Naruto had assigned him the mask specifically as an inside joke only known to Team 7. At the moment though, Naruto didn't even care if it was Orochimaru back from the dead who had stepped into his office because the fair-skinned man held in his left hand a bag filled with a large bowl of miso ramen brought straight from Ichiraku. The blonde was practically drooling when the bowl was placed in front of him, it's hearty and oh so familiar smell wafted around him as if tempting him to open the lid and devour the broth and noodles.

"Here dobe, can't believe you sent me out to get your lunch."

The blonde ignored the Anbu member who he had assigned to guard him, although instinct told him that he should bite back with his usual 'Teme' but the bowl in front of him called to him like a siren's song and the roaring his stomach was doing wasn't because of Kyuubi. The plastic and lid were off faster than the blink of an eye and the 'crack' of the chopsticks echoed throughout the office. The black haired man leaned his hip on the side of the desk and almost flinched as he watched Naruto practically inhale the large bowl. After so many years of being near the blonde he never got used to his large appetite. How many times had Sasuke's food 'mysteriously' disappear from his plate? He had long since stopped counting. Sasuke turned to face the blonde when he noticed he was saying something but with the amount of noodles he stuffed in those whiskered cheeks it was no wonder the Uchiha couldn't understand anything he said.

"Swallow Usuratonkatchi."

Behind the feline mask the Uchiha smirked as he noticed the blonde's pink tint upon his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. '_Pervert_.' Although Naruto had that side ever since Sasuke first knew him, it didn't help him ever since he had gone under a secret alias and had continued Jiraya's famous Icha Icha novels. The only ones who knew was the black haired man who leaned casually on the desk and their old Sensei.

"I said," Naruto stuffed more noodles and swallowed quickly with a loud 'gulp', "I sent everyone a Hawk to meet tonight at Yakiniku Q for a get together and seeing that the Hokage can't go anywhere without his trusted guard seems you're going too."

The blonde grinned mischievously thinking he had gotten Sasuke cornered. He could always say no, the taller man knew he had that option. Naruto was more than capable in protecting himself, as he's shown time and time again, and why he insisted Sasuke be with him at all times baffled many but far few knew why the blonde did it. He needed the Uchiha near him, to know he was next to him and not leaving again and though Sasuke swore he wasn't going to leave there was a large part of his mind that trusted said man to keep his word but there, all the way in the back of his mind there was a seed of fear, of that one day he couldn't find the dark haired man nor any evidence he was ever there to begin with.

"I highly doubt Sakura will allow you to leave if you don't finish all that."

The large grin dropped in a flash as he thought back to all the papers that had yet to be authorized. The pink haired Kunoichi always found time to check up on him and most of the time she ended up yelling at him for not finishing.

"But Sasuke," The blonde whined out his name and looked up at the man as if the Uchiha knew exactly what he was going through, "It's so boring! Did you know I found one today where a man asked if he could keep a stray cat? Or that the Genin's are coming to visit next week and they asked me how many I would allow them to bring?! Why the hell is that even important?!"

For a second the blonde forgot about the bowl in front of him and seemed to be pleading that Sasuke should do something to comfort him, anything to take his mind out for a moment about the mountain of paperwork in front of him. A blonde eyebrow rose when Sasuke moved away and grabbed a chair and plopped down next to him, mask coming off and hanging on the side of his head, allowing the blue eyed man to stare at the blank onyx eyes and solemn set thin lips. Sasuke leaned forward, grabbed half of the stack and one of the stamps and made himself comfortable in the round chair. Naruto's mouth gaped open as the man before him sat there, reading without so much as a complaint and stamped the ones he thought should be accepted.

"Stop staring and start working dobe, you get entertained easily."

Those endless, black eyes never once looked up from the papers even as the Naruto slowly turned back and when he realized he had to get to work, his own eyes moved over to the leftover papers. As the gentle fall breeze kept them cool throughout the day until the sun was heading down the west that the door opened once again. The Kunoichi barged in, just like Sasuke had done except without knocking and making sure her presence was known. She halted though when she noticed the calm almost lazy atmosphere and even more to her shock the face that Sasuke sat so carefree and close to Naruto that it made her double check to make sure it was actually him.

What caused her eyes to practically bug out of their sockets was the clear view of mahogany wood, not a paper in sight except in the 'Approved' and 'Declined' baskets.

"Hey Sakura-chan!"

The blonde met her eagerly yet the tired droop of his eyes told her otherwise. Sasuke took his feet from atop of the desk and straightened himself up, seeing that it wasn't just him and Naruto anymore. Naruto stood and told her eagerly about how the papers had finished and it was thanks to Sasuke that he had finished all of them. Sakura lightly scolded the blonde, saying that the papers given to the Hokage were for the Hokage's eyes solely and the only exceptions were for the elders and his assistant.

"Ah come on Sakura-chan! I trust Sasuke! I'm sure he did a good job."

All the meanwhile while the pinkette and the blonde disputed back and forth, the Uchiha sat silent watching the transactions before him. Naruto passed Sakura in height and stood thinner and broader, his hair just a tad longer and his face was slowly losing the boyish structure. Sakura had not changed much other than her clothing which was the standard for nurses and healers over at the hospital. She continued to wear her hair short and in her back pocket she kept her gloves, proclaiming it was in case of an emergency if she were ever needed in the battle field.

Sasuke wondered if he had changed much. Although many of his fellow shinobi still didn't acknowledge him other than when they were out on a mission, out in the village he wasn't spared a second glance. If only he could say that about the girls who 'secretly' trailed after him. Other than the fact that he had gotten taller than both his former teammates and that instead he now wore the Anbu uniform, there wasn't much that had changed about him.

'_Wait…yes there was.'_ Onyx eyes flickered to the blonde who laughed at something Sakura had said, something Sasuke didn't bother to have paid attention. Naruto had changed him. The dobe, the idiot, managed to twist something in him that caused him to be softer, to look at things differently. It scared him to change but whenever the thought passed by in his head the blonde always seemed to pull him out of it.

"Oi! Sasuke!"

Sasuke blinked out his thoughts away and found a hand near his face and blue eyes just as close.

"It's not very Anbu of you to space out like that Teme!"

The blonde grinned, to happy right now to care about how the Uchiha scowled at him.

"Come on! We're late to Yakiniku anyways!"

Sasuke shouldn't have been surprised. The fact that the noise level at the bar and grill that was known as Yakiniku Q was at a high, Sasuke knew that Naruto had most definitely invited not only the Rookie Nine but also half of Konoha. Naruto had released his teammates wrists and rushed over to the door opening wide with a loud hello, quickly ducking at the glass bottle that came his way.

"HEY!"

Loud choruses of greetings were heard around restaurant as many came up and saluted their newly appointed Hokage. Many familiar faces came upon them Sasuke remained behind as Sakura and Naruto greeted and talked with their friends. No one minded the Uchiha outside of the circle that had formed. He followed behind the blonde, being the ever faithful bodyguard, watched with careful glances until Naruto entered in one of the rooms they had reserved.

"Hey Narut- Oops, I mean, Hokage-sama."

The playfulness in that sentence was evident as Kiba wrapped an arm around Naruto's neck and pulled him down to sit next to the very drunk Inuzuka. On instinct as the blonde went down in the chair he pulled Sasuke to the seat next to him, silently telling those around them that the Uchiha was taking part in this get together. The room was filled with those whom Sasuke had known since his pre-academy days and there was some whom he knew for just a few years such as a particular brown haired man who sat next to a very pale, very ghostly man with black ink colored eyes and jet black hair. Boisterous laughter rang next to him but he paid no mind to the cup of Sake in the hands of the blonde.

"So N-Naruto-kun, how's b-being H-Hokage going for you?"

The shy and timid voice of Hyuuga Hinata managed to reach Naruto and as he shoved Kiba's flustered face away from his personal space he grinned at the Hyuuga heiress.

"It's awesome Hinata-chan!"

Naruto managed to hold an actual conversation with the pale-eyed woman; many becoming interested in what the blonde had to say and immersed themselves into the crowd that had formed. Sasuke watched Naruto's mouth move a mile a minute as he answered everyone's questions, laughing at his friends teasing and teased them right back; a sly grin appearing on his whiskered face. The night was filled with food and good time within their closed knit pack and as they talked about the old days with warm Sake in many bellies it was when the quiet Uchiha who had not uttered a word throughout the whole night was suddenly pulled into a familiar orange and black jacket; ramen, male musk and alcohol entering his nostrils.

"Sasuke-kuun~!"

The cheek that rubbed over the Uchiha's head caused his left eye to twitch. Maybe his friend had had passed over his alcohol limit…by a LOT.

"Let go of me dobe."

Sasuke muttered as he placed his hand in between them two and tried to push the blonde off then again the Kyuubi holder was no push over. While the others had moved on to their own conversations when they noticed their main focus had moved to the Uchiha, Sasuke noticed it was his turn to entertain the blonde. Naruto leaned to his right, placing the blonde spikes he called hair on Sasuke's shoulder and neck and most of his body to be reclining on the taller man.

"You're not having any fun."

Naruto hiccupped and reached out for his cup, downing the clear liquid in three quick gulps. His tanned face held a pink tint on his cheeks and his face no longer scowled at the taste of the strong drink but now that his cup was empty he turned his full attention to the man to his right. Sasuke's attempt in moving the blonde halted as Naruto seemed to get more comfortable on him; his hand swinging over his lap and his nose brushing over the skin of his neck.

"You needa' get out mor' often."

Slurred words reached his ears and while his brain slowly tried to decipher and understand what the blonde had said it seemed that all his body was realizing just where the blondes arm was grazing. The hand Sasuke had placed between their bodies suddenly clutched at the jacket it had been pressed against, the loud voices becoming slowly distant until all he was concentrated on were the long fingers on his thigh and the deep breathing on the side of his neck.

"It seems like Naruto-kun has had too much tonight."

Just like that, Sasuke was back to the present and out of his trance. Sakura smiled at the Uchiha, her own pink cheeks flushed from the alcohol that she had consumed. Sasuke nodded slowly comprehending what she said yet straightened himself when she leaned closer.

"I meant you should take him home Sasuke."

She giggled and nodded towards the sleeping blonde whose mouth hanged open and seemed perfectly comfortable and safe on the stoic Uchiha. What an odd pair the two were. Ying and Yang, Sun and Moon, Dog and Cat. Their personalities was just another thing to add to their list of differences but if Sakura had to list the difference between Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke she would need to take a week off and lots of paper to be able to write it all down. It took a moment for Sasuke to notice that she wasn't staring at him, no, she was staring at the villages new Hokage the way she used to look at Sasuke. Whether it was the liquor coursing through her veins or something else, he wasn't sure but the one thing he did comprehend was that he didn't like the way she looked at him.

He stood quietly and with a bit of shrugging and shifting he managed to get the sleeping man on his back, nodding a goodbye to no one in particular but felt it was necessary as he left the restaurant. The street lights had long since turned on and not a soul in sight; the only sounds out in the dark streets were the barks of the occasional street dog or the flickering of the light bulbs. Naruto had denied being moved out of his apartment even though the place they had offered him was thrice the size of the little shabby hole he called home but the blonde said that the little apartment on the fourth floor was where he grew up in and it was his little space.

"'asuke?"

The tapping of his sandals muffled the whisper but he still picked it up. He hummed as an answer and waited for Naruto to continue.

"Where we going?"

The blonde rubbed away the itch on his nose against the pale man's neck and sniffed, placing his temple under the familiar spikes that stood straight out and made himself as comfortable as he could while riding on someone's back.

"Home."

Naruto nodded and licked his dry lips.

"Thanks for moving in with me 'asuke."

The blonde murmured just as Sasuke had finally managed to put the key inside the lock of their shared apartment. He stopped for just a moment to take off his shoes and Naruto's also and deciding against the slippers he entered the tiny hallway barefooted and made a beeline for the small bed next to the window. Dumping the blonde on the bed Sasuke turned to roll out his futon until he felt fingers fist on the back of his shirt and tug him back. He looked over his shoulder and stared at half lidded eyes that were glazed with sleep.

"'asuke, 'ts hot."

The slurred words were made obvious as the blonde fiddled with his jacket, managing to take out one arm until he decided it wasn't worth moving and looked expectantly at Sasuke, a silent plead was enough to make Sasuke sigh.

"Dobe."

It came out in nothing but a small murmur as he lowered the zipper of the jacket and slid it off easily. Naruto's hands worked on the hem of his pants but clumsy fingers didn't manage to unzip it. Slapping his hands away, Sasuke tugged off the pants and folded the clothes neatly and placed them on the single and bare night stand on the left side of the bed. He turned to see if his drunk friend needed anything else but as he studied the closed eyes and opened mouth that released small snores and deep breaths, the Uchiha's mask seemed to crack for a moment as a smile grew on his face.

His idiot was definitely something.

* * *

**A/N**: Hello fellow readers, if you are reading this then you JUST finished reading 'Missing Puzzle Piece' in advance let me just apologize for such a corny title. I'm normally not that good with titles and this was the first thing that came to my mind when trying to think of one. Anyways, the whole reason for this Author's note is just to remind you that this is **NOT** a one-shot. I had a friend beta this and she told me that it sounded like a one-shot but truthfully, I try my best to end a chapter because I have a tendency to go on and on...and on. Just this chapter is 3,506 words and would have been more if I had not finished it haha. Thank you thought for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

**P.S.** This is my first attempt at writing a SasuNaru/NaruSasu story so if you are going to leave reviews on how bad it is I don't mind if you do, please by all means do so but please tell my **WHY** it's bad so I know what I can do for the next chapter. Please and thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing Uzumaki Naruto noticed as soon as he was conscious was the pounding in his head. Next was the nauseous smell of food. Normally a wormhole when it came to food Naruto never said no when offered some but his hangover made everything smell way too strong and he knew it was going to sour his mood. He blinked away the sleep and laid there staring at the familiar ceiling until in his peripheral vision he saw movement. There, to his right, the great Uchiha Sasuke had tied the orange strings of an apron around his waist and moved around the tiny kitchen of their shared apartment.

The bright color against the black on black clothing the Uchiha wore caused the blonde to hoarsely laugh. Sasuke turned at the noise and placed his best glare for Naruto who seemed to enjoy the view.

"I could easily throw the pan towards your head; don't push it."

He turned back towards the sizzling bacon on the frying pan and carefully placed the greasy meat on a plate. As the Uchiha moved around to prepare things for their early morning Naruto grabbed the small white pills on the nightstand and gulped it down with the orange juice that had been placed there by his roommate.

"What happened yesterday?"

Naruto sat up all too quickly which caused swirls and stars to appear around the room and the pounding in his head to take a deep plunge. He groaned as he fell back on the mattress and brought the pillow above his head in hopes that it would put him out of his misery.

"You drank your weight in Sake and so did just about everyone there did too. I saw no reason in partaking in such an event so I had to carry you home seeing since you knocked out on me after your fourteenth cup."

Sasuke explained as he took off the apron and placed it on its hook. The tiny table that fitted no more than two housed plates filled with food and a carton of milk with two empty glass cups. With the pillow still firmly placed against his face, the blonde slowly sat up and stretched his long limbs, tousling his hair which gave Sasuke the faint image of a chicken ruffling its feathers. Naruto rubbed his stomach as it rumbled and groaned with hunger and as he walked towards the chair at the pace of a snail he slumped in the wooden seat and slid down the pillow slowly to see Sasuke already eating and dressed in his Anbu uniform.

"I don't understand how Tsunade does it."

Wrapping his arms around the pillow Naruto rested a whiskered cheek on the soft material and closed his eyes, mumbling things that the Uchiha didn't pay any mind to.

"I will be heading over to work on the new training field and see what buildings are left."

Naruto nodded and nibbled on a piece of bacon. He had tried to talk Sasuke out of demolishing the Uchiha compound and to save the bit that was left of his family name but the stubborn man was set on his decision and seeing that ever since the massacre and Itachi becoming a rogue nin all that remained under the Uchiha name was left to Sasuke, Naruto had no other say in the matter. Most of the compound had been torn down and cleared off; the little bit that was left was Sasuke's old house and a few parks that Sasuke himself had said he wanted them to remain.

"I'll go with you."

Onyx eyes rose in question as he stared at his best friend. In truth, Sasuke was going over to check how the training grounds were going and to get ahead on cleaning his home that hadn't been touched in years.

"Don't you have work? More importantly, paper work?"

Naruto's bloodshot eyes narrowed, his lips pouting on instinct. He was seriously going to hurl his bowl of cereal at the Uchiha's face if he said the P word again.

"I'm sure I can get Iruka-sensei to help me out with most of it, plus I've wanted to go see your house."

The enthusiasm in the blonde's voice was pretty hard to miss but Sasuke didn't want Naruto to accompany him. He wanted to go to his home alone because there were some things he had to do himself without the company of the whiskered man just at arm's length away from him.

"No. You have duties as Hokage and I as an Anbu and seeing that I will be filling in for Sai I will go my way and you yours."

For some reason his chest hurt at Sasuke's words. _'I will go my way.'_ He didn't like it. Not one bit.

"Sasuke, c'mon, one day of not approving or declining papers won't bring Konoha to its knees. Plus, as Hokage I should be there to check the progress…"

He continued on hoping that something would convince the stubborn Uchiha or that maybe his continues rambling would just get on his nerves and cause him to agree. Even when Sasuke stood to put his bowl and plate in the sink, rinsing it quickly and let it soaked for until evening which was around the time they arrived home, the blonde continued.

"…and even though Kakashi-sensei hasn't pestered me to continue writing it doesn't mean I can abandon the Icha Icha series!"

Tanned hands moved with whatever he said and with the pillow abandoned on the floor it didn't take much to grab Sasuke's attention towards the boxer clad man whom had trailed off in trying to convince him instead now seemingly focused about Neko-chan, the white street cat that often rested on Naruto's windowsill near his bed. Sasuke felt his eye twitch in agitation as Naruto droned on and on and on. His fingers clutched the wooden counter of the sink as he tried to block out the blondes ongoing speech and Sasuke scoffed at the thought that Naruto probably didn't even remember what started his one sided conversation.

"Don't even get me started on the fact that the old lady at the grocery store looked at me as if I were a speck of dust floating into her shop! I mean, sure my hair was a mess and my clothes kind of stank because of training but still! I'm good looking either wa-"

A hand clamped over the blonde's mouth, effectively shutting him up as he stared up at Sasuke innocently with bright blue orbs. Sasuke wore an annoyed expression and his eyes were squinted just enough to dampen the glare he wanted to shoot at him.

"Alright, you can come with me just shut the hell up already."

The words were accompanied with a low growl at the end. Naruto nodded slowly as his mind deciphered the meaning of the words since all he could concentrate on was the cold hand that held a firm grip over his mouth. Sasuke should have known though, he should have taken his hand back and gone about his morning but it had taken him a while before he realized a wet, slick organ trailed over his palm. Recoiling in shock, and albeit disgust, he looked at the sly grin set across whiskered cheeks and mischievous blue orbs. Naruto stood and stretched his body and happily commented, "So, when do we leave?"

* * *

Years ago, the East side of Konohagakure belonged to a well bred and old blood line that was only given to those with the last name Uchiha. During this time, the area enclosed to only those in the clan bustled with life and were the best memories Sasuke had of his childhood but as he walked through the main entrance familiar buildings didn't greet him except he was met with hundreds of unfamiliar people moving around or even some ninjas using certain jutsus to clear away debris.

Without his permission his legs stopped working and his feet suddenly felt as if they were cemented on the ground. He knew he gave permission to clear the land, hell he had requested it, but something about not seeing the buildings or any familiar faces caused his heart to thud and a slight tremor in his hands.

This wasn't right, none of it was. Change was something that he didn't fare well with and being in what used to be the Uchiha compound to see that it wasn't what it used to made him want to turn around and hightail it out of there but he didn't. The reason why he didn't was because he was an Uchiha and simply put: Uchiha's didn't hightail out of anything. A hand clamped on his shoulder and a comforting face appeared next to him.

"You ok?" Sasuke blinked slowly and nodded, shrugging off his hand even though in his mind he silently thanked the blonde for snapping him out of it. They walked straight through, stopping every now and then when someone would come up to Naruto and speak to him about trivial things. It wasn't long before the two of them stood by a lone house that seemed to have had better days yet standing with two floors it was large and majestic even with its old age. The Uchiha symbol along the walls that were chipped and worse for wear once belonged to him and his family.

"Whoa Sasuke, this is your house? It's huge!" Naruto looked upon the old house in awe and even trailed his fingers on the wall outside. He hadn't expected a small house but Sasuke's old home could probably hold three of his apartments inside. When he looked over to Sasuke the older man just looked towards the door of his old home with a blank expression yet the turmoil behind his eyes said much more.

Sasuke didn't sense Naruto come closer to him until the blonde playfully wrapped an arm around his shoulders and brought him closer to him. Naruto wiggled his eyebrows and said, "Want me to hold your hand Sasuke-kun~?" Despite the fact he should have pushed the blonde off of him and told him to get lost Sasuke could feel a small smile creep up on his lips as he shook his head at the blondes playfulness.

"Is that all you'll hold?" The words came out before he even thought of closing his mouth and he flinched when he finally caught the meaning of the words. When he looked over to Naruto the blonde's mouth was wide open and eyes filled with shock.

"Did you just crack a joke?!"

Naruto screeched out, distancing himself from Sasuke as if he were the plague himself. Wide blue eyes suddenly narrowed into a scrutinizing glare as he studied the Uchiha who rolled his eyes at the blonde being over dramatic.

"Who are you and what have you done with Sasuke? I want my Sasuke back!"

Naruto flung himself to Sasuke with such speed that even the Anbu member didn't have time to dodge. Sasuke placed his hands on Naruto's face and tried to push the laughing blonde away from him with no avail seeing he had quite the strong grip on the Uchiha.

"Naruto get off."

The raven haired growled and Naruto released said man, laughing as he motioned for Sasuke to enter the large home first. The comical atmosphere quickly disappeared as Sasuke opened the sliding door and memories resurfaced as he looked upon the living room and the entrance to the kitchen. He could almost hear his mother's voice calling Itachi and him for dinner or the rustling of his father's newspaper or even Itachi's voice whenever they secretly stayed up later then they were supposed to just to talk the night away.

His feet moved by themselves, retracing his steps from years ago and Sasuke faintly brushed his fingers over each little item on tables and counters, cups and plates sat just where his mother had left them and if he continued on straight through the house he would be at the backyard where many times he had played with Itachi hide and seek and even where they trained whenever his older brother wasn't busy which were very few times that Sasuke had quickly learned to cherish.

No matter how hard he wanted to stop the images and scenes, he couldn't.

_"I'm hom-"_

_"Aniki! Aniki! Welcome home!"_

Sasuke rubbed his eyes as they started to ache at the thought of his older brother and he was surprised to find his cheeks wet with tears. He hadn't realized when he had started crying nor when he had fallen to his knees on the wooden back porch but he continuously rubbed at his eyes, it felt as if someone were running their nails over his eyes over and over again. Sasuke felt his body tilt uncomfortably to the left and a strong arm embrace his back and tightly grip his arm, comforting him even through the slight action.

Years and years of ninja training told him that ninjas didn't show emotion, shinobi of his rank should not be crying especially in front of another fellow shinobi but a quiet voice murmured, "It's alright to cry Sasuke, it's just me."

He didn't know how long he stayed there, this time it was him reclining on the blonde whom surprisingly was quiet throughout the whole time Sasuke need to recuperate himself, his grip never lessened and when his sobs were just sniffles Sasuke stared at the wall a few feet away from them not knowing what to say or how to get himself out of the blondes hold.

"You know," Sasuke was surprised when he suddenly spoke and onyx eyes flickered upwards to stare at the smiling whiskered man, "When I met my parents I cried both times so it doesn't make you any less of a man, it just shows that you're human and have feelings. Man, I cried like a baby when I met my mom, she was a babe! I always wondered where my good looks came from…"

Naruto laughed and rambled off about his parents. Naruto didn't speak much about his parents, maybe the fact that he finally got to meet them caused him to keep it to himself just to hold on to the memory but on his nightstand, right by the picture of Team Seven when they had started out as an actual team, was a picture of a blonde man and a red haired woman. It was a no brainer that those were his parents and sometimes when Naruto didn't think Sasuke was looking at him Sasuke would catch Naruto drifting off in a day dream, a silly smile on his face as he stared at the picture frame.

Naruto's hand landed on the top of Sasuke's head and regaining some of his pride he mustered the most 'get off' glare he could to the blonde but that didn't deter Naruto from smiling down at him.

"Just remember Sasuke I'm your friend and I understand what you been through."

For a moment, Naruto looked wise beyond his years and Sasuke found it just a bit weird that the blonde was consoling him and not yelling or being the ditz he was. Of course, those thoughts didn't last long when Naruto rubbed the top of his head so much that Sasuke had to shove the blonde away from him just as he felt his head burning from the friction. He stood quickly and headed inside, leaving Konohagakure's Hokage on the floor as he laughed and held his ribs from the lack of oxygen intake.

"S-Sasuke! S-Sasuke, come back! I-haha-I'm sorry!"

Naruto tried standing but fell as his laughter increased and he crawled on the floor until he was able to wrap a hand around Sasuke's ankle. The Uchiha felt his pulse throb as his patience was wearing thin and he shook his leg in hopes of getting the blonde of his leg.

"Usuratonkachi!"

All that did though was cause Naruto to laugh even harder. Sasuke knew he shouldn't have brought the idiot with him.

* * *

**A/N**: Can I just take a moment to tell those who not only read but REVIEWED a big warm hug! I was surprised to say the least to get such quick reviews and although it was just six they encouraged me to finish Chapter two! I know many authors say that but I was truly ecstatic at reading all of your wonderful reviews and please do continue. Reviews are like food and water for an author haha. To bring this Authors Note to a close I would like to leave you off saying I was a bit-more like a lot-hesitant in writing that one scene in showing Sasuke's emotions but I just feel that after all he's gone through and finally learning the truth about Itachi (My baby!) I believe that if he ever saw his home it would hit him HARD so I went with my little writing guru instinct and went ahead in writing it.

P.S. *SPOILER!*

After writing this it literally hit me like a ton of bricks when I finally realized that Pein had destroyed the ENTIRE village in the fight which included the Uchiha compound buuut for the sake of the story, lets just pretend that it never happened. :)


	3. Chapter 3

"Harder."

The blonde glared, sweat glistening down his temples yet followed the single word order. He grunted and groaned; his hands shaking as his fingers turned white from gripping so hard.

"Harder damn it!"

Naruto yelled out and released his hold, falling back on the damp soil and panted as he passed his hand over his stomach. Sasuke looked at him in a way that bordered on pity and the raven haired man shook his head and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

"I thought you would have lasted longer."

Naruto felt his face heating up and his embarrassment gave him enough strength to stand up from the ground and point an accusing finger at the Uchiha.

"Oh yeah?! Why don't you try teme?!"

Sasuke raised a perfect, thin black eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fine, guess I'll just have to show you how it's done."

Naruto stared at Sasuke as he squatted down on the ground and wrapped his hands around the garden weed Naruto had been trying to rip out of the ground for the last ten minutes. It only took three tugs before the weed was in the Uchiha's pale hands. Naruto sputtered out incoherent angered babbles but Sasuke could make out words such as 'made it easier' and 'show off'. Sasuke moved around the backyard of his old home, just a few days later after his little episode, and picked up the bucket that had several other plants inside.

Sasuke's ears were met with a long drawn out whine and when he fleetingly looked over at Naruto the blonde had his hands behind his neck, eyes closed and head tilted towards the sky.

"It's so hot! It should be Fall yet it feels like Summer!'

The Uchiha sighed and fixed his bandana that held his long bangs from sticking to his face. He was set on cleaning his old home and making it like new because something in him told him that his family could finally rest in peace if he did. Just as he bent down to place one of the flowers they had gotten at the Yamanaka Flower shop an orange shirt hit the side of his head, half of it on him the other half hung in mid air. Sasuke grabbed the shirt and looked over to Naruto who seemed to distract himself as he flexed his muscles and grinned all too happily as if satisfied with what he saw.

The black cargo pants he wore, which he had taken out of Sasuke's side of the closet, rode low on his hips and if possible they slid lower when the blonde stretched and patted Sasuke hard on the back.

"Alright! Now I can get to work!"

It was hardly noon when Sasuke stopped planting the tomato seeds over to the left side of the backyard when he noticed something odd. The wooden fence was a tad higher than he was but he could swear that the object moving about on the other side was the top of someone's head and his confusion was cleared when he noticed a girl peeking over the fence, eyes directly set on Naruto's behind seeing that he was bending and moved to a beat of a song he sang. By the time Sasuke looked back to the fence the girl had disappeared so he blinked in confusion and continued on working.

After three hours of planting seeds and flowers and Naruto urging Sasuke to dance with him, even going as far as showing a couple of his 'moves', Sasuke stood quickly when he heard giggling. He knew those giggles all too well, they were what started throughout his childhood and followed him most of his teenage years but when he looked over to where it came from his eyes widen. Before there had been one but it was as if that single girl had multiplied or given some secret call that no man knew about because now there were more than forty heads peeking over the wooden fence and he didn't even want to know how many there were on the sides of the house.

"Naruto?"

The word came out in a whisper but it had gotten the blondes attention causing him to pause midway into his song.

"What's up? Need me to apply sun block on you?"

The grin didn't last long when he saw Sasuke's widened eyes as if he were terrified of something but Naruto ever the oblivious blonde just stared at him in confusion. In just the few seconds they had been talking more heads popped over the fence, giggling increasing now that the two friends stood next to each other in a closer proximity. Sasuke motioned with his head to where he was looking and it took Naruto a moment to notice the amount of peeking fan girls, how that was possible Sasuke still wondered, but when he did a sly grin on his face grew and caused him to look like a cunning fox.

"Sasuke, come on, don't tell me you're afraid of some girls."

The Uchiha looked at Naruto in disbelief and scoffed at the suggestion.

"I am not afraid of some crazy fan girls because I, unlike you, have experience with them. I'm more worried about you though," He gave the group of girls another look and held back a shudder, "They're looking at you like you're a piece of meat."

"Well it's a good thing the Hokage has his trusty guard with him then huh?"

Naruto slung an arm around his friend's shoulder and shrugged but paused when a loud wave of squeals went throughout the ever growing group. There had to be more than sixty now! The blonde, always the one to enjoy a good prank or two, suddenly came up with an idea. Sasuke knew something was going through Naruto's mind when he saw the blonde shift next to him and the Uchiha stood rigid when the blonde pressed his body against his own; sweat slicked body rubbing against Sasuke's side.

"What are you doing dobe? Get off me."

His face was heating because of the sun. He was set on that answer if someone were to ask of his burning cheeks and Naruto did nothing to lessen it instead he rubbed the tip of his nose under the bottom of Sasuke's jaw.

"Come on Sasuke-kun~ play along."

Naruto slid behind Sasuke, just like a snake would latch on to its prey, he rested his head on the raven haired mans shoulders and stuck his hand under the black shirt the Uchiha had on. He glided it upwards, tanned hands running over pale quivering skin that flinched whenever his hands passed over it yet the girls seemed to get a thrill out of watching Naruto grope the Uchiha that had closed his eyes, either from embarrassment or pleasure, they would never know. Naruto released a loud laugh as he noticed half of the heads disappear and what sounded like bodies hitting the floor caused clouds of dust to drift into the air.

"Wow! I can't believe that worked!"

The blonde had his hands placed on his knees as he continued laughing and seemed unaware of the dangerous aura just a few feet away from him. Once Sasuke felt his face cool down he fixed his shirt and turned in a calmly fashion and Naruto finally realized the Uchiha advancing on him.

"Oh can you believe that worked Sasuke?! Incre- Sasuke? Sasuke what are you- Stop! You can't do that to your Hokage! Sasuke! Not the face! Not the fac-"

* * *

"You ran into a tree?"

Sakura said incredulously as she looked at her best friend whom sat down on one of the beds inside Konoha Hospital. Naruto's left eye was black and the whole right side of his face was swollen to the point that for a second Sakura hadn't recognized him until the bright blonde spikes caught her attention. Naruto sighed sadly and nodded with a quick look at Sasuke who rested against the wall near the door; arms crossed against his chest and head leaning down almost as if he had fallen asleep standing but the other two in the room knew better.

"Did this tree happen to have arms and a hell of a good aim?"

Sakura gently took the blondes face in her hands and examined his face again just to make sure he hadn't fractured anything. She shook her head and smiled down at him seeing him obviously bothered about something with the way his bottom lip pouted.

"You'll just need to ice your face tonight before you go to bed and then tomorrow morning. I'll pass by your office in the afternoon to see if the swelling went down."

Naruto stood and followed Sakura out of the small room, Sasuke following behind him. Many stopped what they were doing and either stared in awe at seeing their Hokage walking through the hallways or bowed in respect though Naruto didn't acknowledge them seeing that he still pouted. Once in the main lobby Sakura shooed him away, giving him money to get her a bottle of iced tea from the cafeteria and he all too happily complied.

"What the hell did he do that you caused his face to look like that?"

Sakura growled as she turned to face the stoic Uchiha. The two endless black orbs she had fantasized about when she was younger now looked down at her in amusement.

"Last time I checked I wasn't a tree."

The pinkette placed her hands on her hips and tilted her hip to the side in a gesture showing him she meant business.

"Now you have jokes? I didn't think I would have lived to see the day. Listen Sasuke, I don't care what Naruto did just know that if you injure him like that again I'll make sure the two of you look identical got it?"

She finished the last two words by poking his chest, excessively hard, just to make sure he got the point. Sakura's demeanor completely changed when Naruto bounced over to them and beamed, well as much as he could with half of his face swollen, at her gratitude. The two had spoken for a while before Sakura was called into emergency and left in a hurry without so much as a goodbye but Naruto understood and seemed to be in a much better mood as they left the hospital.

"Sakura-chan is the best isn't she?"

The blonde giggled and placed his hands behind his neck, his body signal saying he was relaxed and thinking. It didn't take long for the two to walk up the stairs to Naruto's apartment but just as Sasuke inserted his key in the lock he heard a booming 'whoof' from inside. The only big dog the two knew was Akamaru and if Akamaru was inside then…

"Hey you two where've you bee- Whoa what the hell happened to your face Naruto?"

Kiba had opened the door all to happily as if it was his home they had arrived in, truthfully it caused Sasuke to do a double take to make sure they had indeed been in Naruto's apartment building, and the Inuzuka seemed very entertained in poking Naruto's swollen face. The blonde yelled in pain and smacked the other man's hand.

"Oh you're home."

Sai's abnormally pale face appeared behind Kiba and wore a 'friendly' smile but Sasuke knew all too well about Sai's lack of human emotions.

"How did you two get in here?"

Kiba stared at Sasuke as if noticing him for the first time and nodded in greeting before he answered his question.

"The door was unlocked so I made myself at home."

Any normal person would have been mad but Naruto just laughed loudly and allowed himself to be dragged inside the apartment.

"Shikamaru is here too!"

Shikamaru sat at the table, a pack of beers and a radio in the middle of it all and he looked like he wanted to ask what was wrong with the blondes face but thought that would be to troublesome so instead he said, "You weren't in the office today."

Naruto smiled, or what looked like a smile, at his ambassador and shrugged saying something about helping Sasuke and plants. Akamaru laid his large head on top of Naruto's lap and seemed comfortable enough there.

"Well now that the man of the house is here, let's get this party started!"

Throughout the night the four adult men played card games and guzzled down beers, Naruto and Kiba doing most of the guzzling seeing that Shikamaru had one and Sai didn't want any. Eventually the game lost a member as Sai became determined to draw out the scene of Naruto trying to imitate a flying bird in their game of charades and laughter chorused in the small apartment as Shikamaru argued with Kiba on how could he possibly think Naruto was imitating a boat.

All the mean while Sasuke never once took part in the small get together and went around the group, tidying up the place and cleaning the kitchen to which he had meant to do when he found the time. It was around eleven when Shikamaru took his leave and said he would see Naruto tomorrow morning. For an hour Kiba and Naruto took drawing lessons from Sai who Naruto realized had the patience of a saint if he could deal with the two of them.

"Geez Sai, how'd you get so good?"

Kiba hiccupped and laid his head on top of Naruto's bed, mumbling about tigers jumping out of pages and little chibi characters. Sai chuckled as he sketched out the view of Naruto's apartment he had, the owner of said apartment hovering over his shoulder watching his hand move quickly over the paper.

"Practice Kiba-san."

Kiba nodded as if he knew all too much about art and wobbled as he stood, grabbing on to Akamaru's fur and swinging himself over onto the large dog's back.

"Well I got's to go because Ma' will have my head if I get home any later."

Akamaru licked Naruto's and Sai's faces in his way of saying goodbye and headed out the door with his owner already snoring on his back. Sai stood and packed his stuff.

"I believe I must be leaving too, I was called early to the new training grounds tomorrow morning so goodbye."

As the door closed behind him Naruto laid back on his bed and sighed contently, forgetting the ever present throb on his just for a while that is until something cold was placed on his face. Sasuke hovered over him; face emotionless as Naruto held the ice pack in his hands and looked up at him confused.

"Sakura said you had to ice your face before going to sleep."

He said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto laughed and laid back, ice pack covering his face.

"So you are worried about me."

Naruto taunted, making himself comfortable on the single bed. He could hear Sasuke scoff at that and the bed shifted under his weight as he sat near the blondes legs.

"Hey Sasuke?"

"What?"

A blue orb peeked through the small green dish towel to look at his friend whom stared back.

"Why didn't you join us?"

The raven haired man made Naruto move so that he could set his hands behind his back and put himself in a better position.

"You seemed to be having fun without me. Why ruin it?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke as if he just explained to him quantum physics in the utmost detail and he lifted his body up so that he was sitting and mere inches from the Uchiha's face.

"What are you talking about? Come to think of it you don't really partake in any activities other than training and your missions."

Sasuke let out a small snort and he turned to look at Naruto, surprised for a moment to find him so close to his face.

"You don't see it because you have a good heart Naruto and you think everything and everyone is happy with the way things are but I'm not oblivious to things like you are. Whenever I walk by anyone they look at me as the traitor, the one who left the village for the sake of revenge, the one that held YOU behind. They put up those happy faces around you to fool you but they don't fool me."

Naruto allowed Sasuke to rant seeing that the Uchiha needed to release his pent up thoughts and feelings on someone. The blonde wasn't as oblivious as Sasuke thought he was. He knew his friends weren't taking the arrival of Sasuke as well as Naruto had thought they were going to. They distanced themselves from him and just slightly acknowledged him whenever he was around Naruto, almost as if they felt they had to give him somewhat of an acknowledgement to keep the blonde happy.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, head down as if he were a puppy who had been punished by his owner; to see that Sasuke wasn't even looking at him instead he stared at the wall practically burning a hole with the glare he was sending it.

"You know Sasuke; you have to put some effort in it to. You're distancing yourself which is why others don't try to get closer to you."

Naruto mumbled and drew circles on his sheets. He brought the silent Uchiha with him everywhere so that he could try and socialize with his old friends but he always stayed in the background. Secretly though, he dragged Sasuke with him because that nagging little voice in the back of his head, the itty bitty one, told him Sasuke would leave whenever he took his eyes off of him and that scared him.

The blonde looked up in surprise when he felt a hand on his head and Sasuke looking at him with worry in his dark eyes.

"What's with the face? You look like you're about to cry."

Naruto sniffled and released a chuckle, enjoying his head being rubbed and Sasuke swore for a second he could hear the blonde purr.

"My best friend is an antisocial retard."

Naruto yelled out in pain when Sasuke yanked a fistful of hair and placed the ice pack, none to gently, on the right side of his face.

"Way to ruin the moment dobe."

"Sasuke! Come back! That hurt~"

Sasuke rolled his eyes when he had his back to the blonde and a small smile appeared on his lips when a loud 'Teme!' came from the blonde's lips. Sasuke didn't need anyone to make notice of him because he already had the attention of the one that mattered to him.

* * *

**A/N**: Hello everyone! Here is chapter three for you all. I would like to thank all the lovely people that reviewed and those who read this. Just a fair warning my stories don't last as long so who knows, this story might finish next chapter or in ten more chapters. Anyways, what did you think of this chapter? Was it to your liking? Any OOC characters? Is there anything you would like to see in the next chapter? What I personally liked about this chapter was the fact you got to see Naruto and Sasuke's chemistry just a bit more, plus the thing with the fan girls I could so imagine that happening to the two and Naruto being the prankster he was couldn't just pass the offer haha.

Again thank you for reading and for reviewing!


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto awoke to a familiar sound. Whimpers and whispers met his ears and he opened his eyes, noticing the moon in all its glory just on the other side of his window. The blonde sat up and took the sheet off his legs ignoring the cold hitting his torso and legs and made his way towards the Uchiha just a few feet away. Halfway out of his futon Sasuke was splayed out on the floor his eyes closed in sleep yet behind his lids they moved rapidly, his mouth open not releasing snores instead soft whimpers. His legs moved as if he were trying to run away, or catch, something and Naruto sighed and rubbed his face.

_'This is the eighth one this week.'_

The blonde thought sleepily. Sasuke's nightmares were happening much more frequently and even though Naruto had hoped Tsunade could get rid of them all she had said was _'I cure the body Naruto, not the mind.' _Sakura said she would have prescribed some medicine to put him to sleep but Sasuke had refused to take them even after a few punches between the two.

"Sasuke, wake up."

Naruto shook Sasuke's shoulder, muttering for him to get up but that just seemed to cause Sasuke to cry out.

"Aniki…Aniki come back. No-I'm sorry."

Naruto rubbed his eye in hopes of rubbing the sleep away as Sasuke spoke in his sleep. It seemed Sasuke mostly dreamt of his brother, the words 'Aniki' uttered most of the time. Shaking his shoulder a bit rougher blue eyes watched the sleeping man stir and suddenly he shot up, tight grip on Naruto's wrist and spinning red eyes looking directly at him in fear, a move made by instinct. In a quick motion Naruto had grabbed both of Sasuke's hands in one of his and legs over each side of the pale man, pinning his body down into the futon by forcing his hips to ground into his abdomen.

"Let me go!"

"SASUKE! It's me! Wake up!"

The raven haired squirmed for just a few seconds before his mind ran its gears, telling him he was out of his dream world and in his home and those blue eyes looking down at him weren't covered in an orange mask and his brother didn't need saving nor any more fights were needed. He panted heavily, catching his breath and blinking rapidly as the beads of sweat rolled into his eyes. The images were still there, Itachi smiling at him yet all the blood on his face didn't explain the reasons for which he smiled and so many more images that he wished he could get rid of, to burn, to never remember.

His eyes opened quickly when he felt a foreign weight on him and his breath caught in his throat when he realized Naruto's face had gotten way to into his personal space since the blonde had placed his forehead on his. The blonde sighed heavily which caused Sasuke to flinch as the warm air to hit his lips.

"They haven't stopped."

Sasuke knew what he was referring to and slowly shook his head and felt the grip on both his wrists loosen. Naruto looked as if he wasn't going to move anytime soon and Sasuke knew he should have thrown him off him seeing it was the most reasonable thing to do but it scared him when he realized how comforting having the blondes body heat so close to him. The more he thought about it the more he felt more normal to the fact his best friend sat on him and the fact that his best friend was a male wasn't all too odd to him.

"Ha! I got it!"

Naruto grinned brightly, which was a huge difference to his pensive expression just a few seconds ago, and stood up also bringing Sasuke with him. Naruto brought Sasuke towards his bed and struggled a bit to make him lay down and when the very confused, for many reasons, Uchiha stared at him all Naruto did was slip in under the covers and turned on his side away from Sasuke.

"Maybe you'll sleep better if you know I'm right next to you."

He didn't turn as he spoke and Sasuke didn't reply to his idea because he was finding his eye lids drooping, the comfortable mattress under him pulled him to a deep sleep and the familiar body heat slid over to him under the covers. It seemed Naruto had been right because what remained of the night and early morning, not a single sound escaped the Uchiha's lips. It was when the sun peaked through the blinds of the window that Sasuke groaned awake, head disappearing under the green and orange comforter. Under the warm air he looked over to Naruto who laid on his stomach and loud snores were muffled seeing that his face was pressed against the mattress, his pillow cushioned his chest.

Sasuke chuckled at Naruto's odd position and realized he was staring when Naruto had shifted and curled near him. Looking over to the small clock on the nightstand, it was just over six in the morning and they both had to leave around seven and make their usual rounds around Konoha before heading to the Hokage's building.

"Dobe. Hey. Wake up."

With each word he used a poke and a random body part in hopes to wake the blonde up. To no avail though seeing he stirred and leaned on Sasuke's left thigh, the Uchiha sighed and shook his shoulder.

"Naruto get up."

The blonde released a loud snort and mumbled incoherent words as he tangled his legs with Sasukes.

"Too early 'un warm."

Naruto yelped as he felt his body being pushed off the bed and his back met the cold wooden floor of his apartment.

"Hey Teme! What'd you do that for?!"

Sasuke's smirk slithered over his lips as rested his arm on his knee while he looked at the unruly blonde hair and slanted blue eyes that that screamed murder.

"You wouldn't have woken up if I hadn't done that."

Naruto scoffed and muttered about Uchiha's and their cycles until he realized the reason why Sasuke sat on _his _bed. He widen his eyes and looked at the silent Uchiha, whose smirk had turned into a small smile and shook his head, answering Naruto's unspoken question.

"Not one?"

"Nope."

"So you're saying my plan worked?"

"Yup."

"So…That means you owe me."

"Hell no."

Friendly banter had turned seriously all of a sudden as the two glared at each other. That is until Naruto gave out a war cry and all Sasuke could see was the Hokage of a very important and prestigious village tackling him and rolling around the wooden floor as if they were meager children out in the playground. The two adult men rolled and grunted, hands fisting in hair and yanking but not enough to cause much pain. Although neither would ever say it out loud they were glad for the normalcy between them, even though their definition of normal was a bit farfetched when it came to each other. Sasuke had managed to grab Naruto's ear and yank a bit too rough and as the blonde struggled to release the hold on his ear his knee collided with the Uchiha's groin.

Sasuke normally pale face became as red as a tomato and his body released on instinct and got into a fetal position as he held his lower region. Bolts of pain shot through his body and he could faintly hear Naruto franticly calling out his name.

"Sasuke! Ah! I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry! I didn't- Are you ok?!"

"Usuraton-kachi."

Sasuke barely mumbled. He released a very un-Uchiha like yelp when he felt Narutos hands around that area and with a beet red face yelled out, "Dobe! Get your hands away from there!"

Naruto yelled out and backed away just when he noticed where he was trying to check and for a moment they were silent with one trying to recuperate and the other watching silently in worry. It had taken Sasuke a good few minutes before he lifted his head and looked over at Naruto who looked as guilty as a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"I'm sorry."

Sasuke sighed, not having the energy to retort with an angry comment.

"Go get ready. Sakura will have our heads if we're late visiting the hospital today."

Naruto scrambled to get up on his feet and all Sasuke could hear were his retreating footsteps and the closing of the sliding door of the bath. Now all he had to do was figure how he was going to stand.

* * *

"Stop fidgeting."

Blue eyes fleetingly looked at the Anbu next to him and quickly looked away.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Naruto stop asking me if I'm alright. I told you already I'm fine."

Naruto wanted to rip off the mask from Sasuke's face just to see what he how he was really feeling but even though he couldn't see what emotions lain on the Uchiha's face, the tone was icy. They waited by the village gate early in the morning, ready for their 'trip' to Sunagakure but in reality Naruto was using this as an excuse to get out and not have to do paperwork for a few days. Sasuke's hands clenched as he glanced up at the rising sun.

"Where the hell is that mutt?"

Kiba usually accompanied Naruto, along with Sasuke, whenever Naruto had to leave the village. If anything were to happen, Kiba's nose would quickly search for him and Akamaru was a fierce guarding dog. The Inuzuka was late and Sasuke was seconds away from looking for him and beating the hell out of him just when two figures ran towards them.

"Sorry! Alarm didn't sound!"

Naruto waved it off and patted his friend behind the back but he swore he could here Sasuke hissing. He said nothing in the matter as he did a quick hand sign and out of nowhere a large, menacing looking hawk appeared on top of Sasuke's right shoulder. The huge bird cawed loudly and spread its wings, ruffling them in the process.

"Go Tori."

The hawk rose towards the sky and hovered over them, circling above them like vultures awaiting a meal. Tori was Sasuke's eyes up above and he could normally detect any movement from miles away. Sasuke didn't wait for the other two as he began walking out of the village into the forest because just seconds later their footsteps matched with his. Birds had not yet awakened nor any of the critters of the forest so the large area of foliage was eerily quiet.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's back, seeing that he was yard away from Kiba and him. It had been a few days since the little incident and yet Sasuke was being quieter than usual which was saying a lot! Although the Uchiha still occupied his bed, he kept much distance, or what he could keep seeing the bed wasn't meant for two, and Sasuke had been visiting far less than usual.

"What's wrong with him?"

Kiba sniffed and placed his hands behind his head. Akamaru trotted on the other side of Naruto seeming aloof but Kiba knew otherwise that the large dog was on high alert for any strange sounds.

"He's mad at me."

The Inuzuka snorted as he stared at Sasuke. The man always looked like he had a steel rod permanently shoved up his ass and if his shoulders were any more tense then they were at the moment they might have popped out of their sockets. In a way he understood why Sasuke kept close to Naruto and why Naruto clinged on to Sasuke as if he were his lifeline but the two of them had the strangest friendship Kiba had ever seen.

"What'd you do now?"

Naruto's bottom lip protruded and the pouting blonde seemed to deflate.

"I knead him…down there."

Kiba visibly winced; well his shoulders did seeing his face was hidden behind the Inu mask. No wonder the Uchiha was pissed, his family jewels had been in peril. Naruto sighed and rubbed his face and a thought suddenly popped into Kiba's mind.

"Have you done anything else?"

The blonde shook his head sadly. Kiba had never seen Naruto so sad- Oh wait, there had been that time when Sasuke had left that village and that other time Ichiraku had closed for the day.

"Maybe you did something that bothered him."

Sasuke had turned to look at them for a moment and Naruto lifted his head excitedly to be acknowledged but drooped when Sasuke turned towards the front again.

"He would have told me though."

Kiba shrugged and silence fell upon them. It had been another half hour when they could hear the forest awakening and it wasn't until just a few hours later Sasuke rotated with Kiba and the awkward silence between the two seemed to only be bothering the fidgeting blonde. Naruto was about to say something when Sasuke stopped, the strange sound of two less footsteps caused Kiba to look back in questioning.

"Movement. Mile and a half west."

Akamaru bounded over to Naruto as Sasuke wielded his katana. Everyone was on high alert, eyes shifting around behind white masks while Naruto himself narrowed his eyes and glanced around behind him. A small object was thrown upwards and before the small metal looking ball hit the ground it exploded with purple gas quickly heading towards them. Sasuke had worked for Orochimaru for just enough time to learn the difference between smoke screens and poisonous gas. It was a quick decision but as Kiba ran towards their attacker Sasuke had ripped his mask off and pressed it on Naruto's face. Behind the mask he wouldn't be able to breathe the gas due to the little trinket that was especially made for such situations.

Without another thought on that, his sharingan swirled as he joined Kiba, quickly killing off three men in just mere seconds. Sasuke quickly moved to his right and stuck his katana into another man's side. Sasuke gasped and held his breath again. He could hear Akamaru's growling and flesh tearing but he wasn't sure where the two were seeing that the purple smoke still hung in the air. Sasuke made his towards Naruto and pushed him down when he sensed movement behind him and with a quick swipe, sliced the man that ran towards them over his chest.

"I think that's it!"

Kiba ran towards them seemingly unhurt and well. Akamaru coughed but seemed like the poison had affected him much seeing all dogs from the Inuzuka clan were bred to a strong immune system towards any, if not most, poison. Naruto tried to peek out from the Neko mask but Sasuke firmly placed his hand and held it against the blondes face.

"Keep it on dobe. While the smoke has disappeared the toxins are still in the air!"

"What about you?! You're breathing it all in Teme!"

Sasuke shook his head and left his hand against the mask as he called Tori down.

"Kiba, hand me their headbands. Konoha needs to be informed that the Hokage was just attacked."

Kiba quickly cut two of them off and threw them to the Uchiha who caught them effortlessly. Tori grabbed it and waited for Sasuke to slip the piece of paper in its holder above its talons.

"Get this to Shikamaru as fast as you can. Go Tori."

The immense hawk lifted off the ground and flew out of their sights as the adrenaline of the short battle quickly simmered.

"We need to get going."

Sasuke hauled Naruto up and they four of them took to the trees and sprinted from the battle scene. The bodies would be taken care of later from other Anbu's he had requested and had given the coordinates to where they were. After a few yards away from the scene Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke's wrist and threw the surprised Uchiha against a tree trunk.

"Stop acting is if nothing is wrong!"

Naruto roared directly at Sasuke's face and the arm he had against the Uchiha's pale neck pressed deeper. The blonde huffed out a breath that caused Sasuke's eyelashes to flutter but even in their close proximity Sasuke wasn't deterred. Instead he grabbed on to the lapels of the blondes red and black coat and, if possible, brought him even closer.

"Do I look sick to you? My body is immune to almost every single toxin ever created and we can thank Orochimaru for that. You on the other hand are not. As an Anbu I place your life way ahead of mine so I reacted on instinct because I knew what my body can handle."

Naruto was breathing deep and if possible his breath hitched at Sasuke's steely stare. Aside from everything, Sasuke did look fine and in the light they were in Naruto could tell his pupils weren't dilated from the toxins but something nagged at him; a voice in the back of his head told him something wasn't right.

But hey, Sasuke said he was fine right? So what was the worst that could happen?

* * *

**A/N**: Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I had changed this chapter so many times I almost had given up on it but I'm so happy that Tumblr exists because inspiration struck and I quickly got to writing. Just so you know, this chapter had not been planned to go like this at ALL but I was quite happy how it turned out. I'm very excited about the next chapter because we are going to see a whoooole 'nother side of Sasuke and I might have to much fun doing it haha. I just love this pair to much. If any of my beautiful readers have a Tumblr please follow me for much NaruSasuNaru love and I would be more than glad to follow you back! My username is (surprisingly) winkatthesun . tumblr . com

Again thank you for reading and for reviewing!


	5. Chapter 5

Lips parted to allow a breath of oxygen, tongue slid against dry lips. He was hot. It was irregularly hot out. It could have been that since the forest ground was littered with small amounts of sand they were nearing Sunagakure and Konohagakure's borders but he didn't understand why his body felt as if on fire. His canteen was empty seeing that he had drunk all his water just minutes ago. He rubbed at his heated cheeks, shivering as shots of pleasure ran through his body.

He was so hot.

Naruto looked back at Sasuke who was trailing behind. The man hadn't bothered to put on his mask back and within hours something in him changed. He walked slumped, hands brushing against knees while feet dragged on the ground. His eyes were half lidded as if asleep and his normally pale face was rosy. He sure looked strange that's for sure.

"Sasuke! Hurry up!"

The Uchiha heard the voice but it sounded so distant. His ears felt as if they were stuffed with cotton and with his mouth dry his tongue passed over his lips again as he shivered as if cold. Kiba whispered something to Naruto that he couldn't quite hear from the distance he was in but the two stopped in their tracks and allowed him to catch up.

"Why are we stopping?"

He huffed and rubbed his neck feeling the beads of sweat that had accumulated there. This wasn't like him. Sasuke was too cool, too aloof to be huffing and puffing and to be lagging in the back. He was one to take heed first and the sharpest movements out of most ninjas but now he looked as if he wouldn't be able to catch a backpack if it were thrown to him.

"We're taking a break. It looks like you could use one."

Kiba sniffed as he stared at Sasuke who glared at him but his heart wasn't put in it.

"I'm fine. Let's…go."

Naruto studied his best friend; analyzing him as if the solution to his problem would appear on him. Sasuke's canteen was empty seeing that when he staggered there wasn't any sloshing sounds coming from water so Naruto took his from the strap on his backpack and handed it to him.

"Here, you look like you need it more than me."

Sasuke looked at the canteen as if he were a man who had been out in the desert for too long and greedily took it from the blonde's hands.

"Hey I think I hear a river nearby."

As much as he tried he couldn't hear any water running but Sasuke had thought way ahead of him and was already handing him the two empty canteens.

"Go fill these up. We're going to need them full when we cross the desert."

Sasuke looked better seeing he stood straighter and the cold look in his eye was slowly returning. Naruto was about to ask him if he felt better but didn't have the chance to because Sasuke plopped down on the ground, rather ungracefully, and rested his back against a tree as soon as Kiba and Akamaru had disappeared.

"You ok?"

Obsidian orbs looked up at the blonde and Sasuke had to blink a couple of times before he thought he might be going crazy. Naruto was glowing and not some type of spiritual, heavenly light glowing. No, the blonde was literally glowing. His blue eyes were way lighter than they usually were and his blonde hair was shining, like a permanent halo surrounding him. That's it. He had officially lost it. His marbles weren't all there anymore. He shook his head, remembering he had been asked a question but to proud to verbally say it.

His mind practically melted when he felt Naruto place his hand on his forehead and he had just about lost it. Naruto took back his hand as if burned when Sasuke gasped and for a second he thought he had kneed him again.

"No…put it back."

Dark blonde eyebrows furrowed at the request-no _demand _he had been told to do. He didn't understand what was happening to the damn Uchiha. He moved around uncomfortably almost looking like a worm and his cheeks looked as if he had been standing to close to a fire, all pink and rosy and the sweat that glistened on his temples didn't help his sickly image at all.

"I said…put…it back!"

Now his eyebrows rose at the growl hidden under the tone. Naruto hesitantly slid his hand over Sasuke's forehead a bit dumbfounded at the situatio-Was he purring? Sasuke unashamedly rubbed his head into his hand; sighing in pleasure and licking his lips appearing like the blondes hand were some type of miracle that had been presented to him. His skin felt fiery wherever Naruto's hand touched and even though somewhere in his mind the small voice yelled in its high pitch squall that this was strange and an Uchiha shouldn't be in such a position; holding onto somebody's hand as if it was a life line.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose when Sasuke rubbed his nose over the rough skin of his palm that had been nodular from years of weapon wielding and training. This was too weird. He had to stop him. This wasn't Sasuke.

"What the hell Sasuke? Stop it."

In his mind he kicked himself repeatedly when his voice came out small and breathless instead of demanding. The way the Uchiha's spidery fingers flittered down his arm, one holding his elbow the other gliding it across his pale face caused his breath to hitch. Blue eyes fluttered closed for a second before reality tugged him back and he opened his mouth to yell at Sasuke when he noticed his gaze was directly on him; his eyes lured him in. They were changing from a deep onyx to scarlet, back and forth in a never ending shift and Sasuke saw this as the perfect opportunity to push Naruto a step further.

Naruto felt his index finger engulfed and a rough yet slimy organ sliding against the pad of his finger. A strange shiver crawled down his spine as he looked at Sasuke sucking off his finger like Naruto would to the broth of a ramen bowl. Sasuke panted and dragged his teeth against the finger, his vision blurred with red and his mind demanded him for more. This wasn't enough. He needed more.

"Uh am I interrupting something?"

Kiba had seen many weird things in his life before. Many things that questioned the law of nature and seemed to defy any rule of common sense and this just happened to be one of those moments. Sasuke looked lost for a moment, looking like he was asking himself where he was and Naruto was flustered beyond belief. He took back his finger, a wet pop leaving with him, and he quickly stood, loosening his pants a bit before laughing nervously.

"S-Sasuke isn't acting like himself. W-We should get to Suna before he gets worse."

Being careful in not to touch the Uchiha, Naruto lifted his best friend off of the ground from the back of his shirt and started walking with tense shoulders and keeping the strange acting raven-haired man at arm's length. Akamaru looked up at his master and whined, sensing something was definitely wrong. Kiba nodded and patted his large head.

"Yeah there's something definitely happening with those two. Come on buddy."

The two walked behind Naruto and Sasuke and it wasn't long before their feet were met with sand and their faces with stale air.

* * *

**A/N**: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading Missing Puzzle Piece! I would love to hear your opinions on this chapter because I already have chapter 6 written and would like to see if you'll enjoy it also but for me to know I need to know your opinions! So please don't hesitate to review.

Again thank you for reading and for reviewing!


	6. Chapter 6

Sand swirled around the small group that waited outside of Sunagakures walls. The morning sun was just almost in the center of the sky and most would be lying if they denied it being extraordinarily hot today. Seasons weren't a problem out in the middle of the desert since it normally stayed warm throughout the year except during nighttime. At night was when temperatures plummeted but those raised in such conditions had become accustomed to it.

"Ha! I win again!"

Sea green eyes shifted towards his left to see Kankuro playing Jankenpon* with one of the genins and it seemed he wasn't taking well his losing streak. Temari stood next to her youngest brother, standing tall and proud as she looked for any movement over the vast land and dunes of sand.

"You didn't have to come along Temari, the sun is worse than usual."

Gaara mumbled and rolled his shoulders without uncrossing his arms, the gourd on his back shifting along with him. Temari smiled at her baby brother and bumped her shoulder to his.

"I'm not made of glass, you and Kankuro need to stop worrying about me."

Her smile remained on her face but her face brightened when she pointed out straight ahead.

"Look! There they are!"

About a yard away a bright red Kage hat peaked out of a sand dune and behind said hat were three others following after him. Naruto's pace quickened when he noticed familiar faces and with a bright grin and arms waving happily he yelled out, "Hey you guys!" Naruto left behind Kiba and Sasuke and ran towards the Kazekage and the crowd that waited for them. Not giving it a second thought Naruto slung an arm over Gaara and gave him a one-armed hug, his ever famous grin on his face.

"Welcome…Naruto."

Gaara's small smile was directed at the blonde and Temari felt something tug at her heart at her brother's happiness. Whenever Naruto came to visit or vice versa Gaara stuck to the blonde like a dog would to its owner and Naruto never seemed to mind, in fact he enjoyed the redhead's companionship. The two had an understanding that no one else did even if one of them was no longer a Jinchuuriki. Everyone circled around and greeted the new Hokage and welcomed the Anbu members that accompanied Naruto and quickly helped them with their luggage. The blonde chatted animatedly with the silent Kazekage whom soaked in every word like a sponge in a desert. It was when Kiba yawned loudly that Naruto dismissed him saying that he needed a break and to take Sasuke with him seeing that Sasuke looked like he was going to drop at any moment.

Once the two Konohagakure Anbu disappeared Naruto's face dropped into a frown and he called Kankuro over.

"Hey Kankuro, think you can do me a favor?"

"Yeah, what's up?"

Naruto took off the broad hat that shielded him from the sun and scratched his head.

"On the way here we were attacked. There had been poison in the air and Sasuke thought he was immune to it so he gave me his mask so that I wouldn't inhale it but," Naruto tried looking for the right words as they entered the largest building in the village, "He's been acting weird and its freaking me out. Think you could take a look at him?"

Kankuro seemed to ponder this as he sat next to him on the couch and it was then when Naruto noticed he wasn't wearing his usual getup. His unruly brown hair was free for everyone to view and there was no make-up on his face and even his clothes were different.

"Do you remember the color of the smoke?"

"Uh purple I think."

Kankuro stood as Temari walked into the room, speaking to someone outside the door before closing it shut.

"Well I'm going to need a DNA sample from him seeing that there are a lot of poison gases that are purple."

Naruto shrugged and said, "Do what you have to do. If he denies letting you tell him it's a direct order from me, it sometimes works."

The blonde laughed as he saw Temari shaking her head in disbelief. Kankuro left the room, mumbling about supplies he was going to need and ways to convince the Uchiha. Naruto turned his attention to Temari who had taken Kankuro's previous spot.

"Hey Temari you're bigger!"

She rubbed her engorged stomach, patting it softly.

"Yeah, I feel like I'm going to explode any moment," She chuckled and placed a hand on top of Naruto's, "I want to thank you for allowing Shikamaru to travel so much. I know he's needed in the village if anything were to happen but having him here makes everything much more easier for me."

Naruto blushed at such attention and waved it off, nervous laughter leaving his lips.

"Ah, don't worry about it. I know he wants to be here as much as he can and I don't expect anything to happen anytime soon. Which reminds me!"

The blonde rummaged through his robes until in his hands he brought out a small package along with an envelope.

"He sent you this. I think it was his mom that made it."

Temari practically glowed as she took the package from his hands and started reading the note. Naruto brought his attention over to the silent redhead whom hadn't spoken a word all throughout this time but then again Gaara wasn't much of a talker.

"So basically this traveling from village to village is to strengthen our bonds and whatever else Sakura-chan had said," The blonde snickered, "Is there anything needed to strengthen? Have you felt the need to attack Konoha?"

Gaara stared at Naruto, wondering if he was actually serious, until a large grin spread on his face. Gaara chuckled, a low, deep laugh and shook his head.

"Not as of late."

Naruto nodded once and made himself comfortable.

"Good! Now I can enjoy the rest of my time here."

It was quiet for a moment other than the noise of paper shuffling that came from Temari whom was still reading her letter and the howling of wind outside.

"Hey Gaara?"

The red head hummed as he stared at Naruto whose eyes were closed and seemed to be in deep thought.

"What would it take to convince you to go out dancing?"

* * *

"You want what?"

Kankuro raised his hands to show he came in peace but the Uchiha who lain on the bed didn't rise. His quick breaths were loud in the large hotel room and he didn't even have the strength to turn his head to look at Kankuro.

"I just need a bit of your saliva to see if you're poisoned. It's a direct command from Naruto."

Sasuke closed his eyes. In his mind he cursed Naruto out with every word and more that he knew.

"I told him I'm fine."

Kankuro unscrewed the top of the long, clear bottle and brought out a swab.

"Stop being so stubborn and open your mouth. You're showing all the symptoms of being poisoned and if I don't figure out what the hell is wrong with you then you can sure as hell bet you're going to die."

Obsidian eyes glared as hatefully as they could from such an angle and slowly he opened his mouth just enough to allow the older man to quickly swipe the swab on the inside of his cheek and take it out.

"I'm telling you there's nothing wrong with me. I'm just tired."

Kankuro nodded but Sasuke highly doubted he was agreeing with him. Sasuke was left alone once again and he was quite glad for that seeing he could finally get his thoughts straight. He knew that there was something indeed wrong with him but the fact that so many people were doting on him as if he were a child annoyed him to no end. Naruto, especially was the cause of this. Sasuke grunted as he lifted his body off of the bed, feeling strangely sore as if he had been doing non stop training then ran around Konoha a hundred times. He slid off his shirt from his body and tossed his pants on the bed and opened the window, thankful for the cold night air slithering around his heated body.

He needed to think, to go back to all those teachings Orochimaru had made him listen to. Poisons were extraordinary things: they came in all different colors, textures and tastes. The one that had exploded on them was purple and if he remembered correctly there had been a bit of lavender to mask the rank odor it shouldn't had emitted. He was having hallucinations and extreme sensitivities wherever touched, above normal skin temperature and what seemed like a permanently flushed skin. His stomach clenched and he groaned as he placed his hand on his stomach, shots of delight traveled around his abdomen in unnatural speed.

Sasuke panted as he placed his head on his arm and allowed his hand to travel around his torso causing shivers to move all over his body and he wasn't going to deny it: he liked it. He brought his hand over his hip and gasped as his thumb skimmed over the top of his member. Sasuke's mouth opened, releasing loud pants and groans as his hand moved on its own accord, his knees knocked together as he tried to stay standing.

"Hey Sasuke how are you feel-"

The voice was far away but he knew whose voice that was and that had been the last straw. A guttural sound came out of him as he fell on his knees, chest heaving with much needed oxygen. Quick footsteps made their way to him and suddenly he felt a hand fist in his hair. His head was pulled back so that he was left looking at heated blue orbs and what seemed like a frustrated frown but Sasuke smiled, a silly smile that caused Naruto to lift both eyebrows at such an expression. Naruto was glowing. His hair shined, aqua blue eyes sparkled and skin radiated. He looked delectable, a forbidden apple in the garden that was ripened for the taking.

"What is wrong with you Sasuke?"

It came out in a whisper but all it did was bring another shiver to run down the Uchiha's spine. Naruto was careful not to touch him seeing that was the trigger for him to act so strange but it was becoming difficult to do so as Sasuke continued to squirm around.

"Naruto, get me up... I can't..."

His vision blurred, the edges reddened but his body tensed at the hands under his axilla's slowly lifted him up so that he was staring out of the window, the night sky holding millions of twinkling stars. The view from his room was beautiful and he could still feel the cold air entering through the window but it wasn't helping any more. His body was on fire.

"Hungry."

The word was muttered as his head lulled back unto the blondes shoulder and Naruto as about to ask what was it that he wanted to eat until he felt lips on the side of his neck, sounds of sucking against skin near his ear. Naruto gently detached him from his neck and none to gently flicked his nose when Sasuke went to bite his hand.

"What now?"

Naruto was frustrated. He didn't understand what was happening with Sasuke and the way he was acting was seriously freaking him out. Naruto grabbed him and threw him over his shoulder, not pausing even as Sasuke moaned from what seemed in pleasure, and walked over to the bed that was near the wall. He didn't care that he had thrown him or the fact that Sasuke had hit his head on the headboard but he had an excuse for being so rough: he didn't like being confused.

"Sasuke look at me...look at me!"

Naruto slapped away Sasuke's hands that were trailing down his own abdomen and were just about to remove the black boxers.

"Hot. It's so hot Naruto."

"It's not hot Sasuke, it's freezing in here. Listen to me Sasuke you need to tell me what is happening with you, I can't help you if you're just saying a word or two."

Sasuke's eyes were turning scarlet again. The room was swimming in red and the way Naruto glowed made his eyes hurt. His hands were moving again, they looked like snakes creeping up on its prey but they were interrupted by another pair of hands.

"That's it."

Everything was done in one quick movement. Naruto untied his headband and quickly tied it around both of Sasuke's hands, leaving his arms behind his back and wrapped the bed sheets around his legs making him unable to move. Leaving him there on the bed the blonde opened the door and yelled out for Kiba who was just down the hallway. His door slammed open and a alert looking Kiba ran out while he tried to put on his pants at the same time.

"What's wrong?! Are we being attacked?!"

Naruto shook his head and told him, "Stay outside this door. Don't let anyone in or out and make sure Sasuke stays as I left him. Got it?"

The confused Inuzuka nodded and watched Naruto leave. He was getting to the bottom of this, all he needed to figure out was where Kankuro was.

* * *

**A/N**: Hello everyone! Thank you for reading Missing Puzzle Piece! Here's the long awaited chapter six! Sorry for all the fluff, or however my friend calls it (haha) but you can't eat the whole cake in one sitting right? (Or can you?) I want to thank all of those reviewing! Without you guys I wouldn't have the inspiration to continue to write this story so if guys want me to reply to your reviews just tell me you want me to and I'll be more than glad to do so!

Again thank you for reading and for reviewing!


	7. Chapter 7

Kankuro stared into a microscope, watching the microbactiria crawling around in the glass slide. He wasn't surprised when the door to the lab banged open nor when Naruto's frustrated voice yelled for attention seeing he casually wrote something on his notes and looked back in the microscope.

"Kankuro! I can't take it anymore!"

Said man looked up at the fuming blond and chuckled at his wild and brash antics. The Hokage had his hands on his head, fingers gripped onto blond locks and while he muttered something about Uchiha's and their sexuality Kankuro stared at him until the blond plopped down on the opposite stool, groaning as he placed his forehead on the table.

"You look like you need a drink."

Naruto shook his head yet still accepted the Shochu*.

"The situation is kind of funny now that I know what is wrong with him."

Naruto downed the cup in one gulp and flinched at the strong taste of alcohol Kankuro stood from his stool and looked through some files before bringing a folder over to the blond and laying it in front of him.

"Why am I looking at a flower?"

Kankuro rolled his eyes and tapped the flower that was tightly sealed in the clear bag.

"You're looking at what is causing Sasuke to be all touchy."

"How did you know he was-"

Kankuro pointed to the side of his neck and Naruto winced when he felt the rough skin that had been roughly teased. He could only imagine what color the patch of skin was now. Looking down at the file he read the description of the flower and his eyes widen with understanding.

"It's actually an aphrodisiac, there was enough to tranquilize a large animal so I'm going to go ahead and say it was meant for you but seeing Sasuke had inhaled it he must have had a different reaction than you would have had. Hell, I'm surprised he's even coherent to the world around him."

The flower was quite pretty with its white color and pink tips. He prodded with his finger the black berry next to it and finally getting bored of it he turned to Kankuro with pleading eyes.

"Tell me there's a cure."

Kankuro took the folder from him and placed it back in the filing cabinet.

"The poison will naturally flush out of his body in two, three days tops. All he needs to do is rest and not overexert himself or the poison will travel faster. I mean, I'll brew up something to help him get rid of it faster but other than that try to keep quiet if anything happens between you two, Sunagakure wouldn't enjoy being awaken so early in the morning because of your moaning."

Kankuro yelled out as a cup clashed with his head.

* * *

"I think he's lost it."

Were the first words out of Kiba's mouth as Naruto stepped onto their floor. Muffled groans were heard through the door and he could only imagine what the Uchiha was going through. Naruto nodded, tired even though he hadn't done much that day and told Kiba to go ahead and sleep, that he would look after Sasuke tonight.

Once Kiba's door had closed the blond pressed his forehead against the cool wood of the door and sighed. He had to go inside level headed and understanding. Sasuke wasn't himself and although after he was back to his normal self Naruto would never let him live this down now was the time to be serious. Taking of his red and black robe and his sweater he took hold of the door knob and opened the door.

Sasuke's sensitive ears picked the noise up and his head turned towards the door, silly smile placed on his face when he noticed who it was.

"Listen to me Sasuke, you're sick ok? We need to make you feel better."

Sasuke nodded all to happily and went out to touch the blond, to have something brush his fingertips but he was still immobile. Naruto grabbed the jar of ice cold water on the nightstand and poured it in the basin then he dipped the towel inside it. Sasuke watched his every moment, watched how his hands gripped onto the towel and got rid of any excess water, watched at how he placed it on his forehead, careful not to touch him.

Obsidian orbs trailed around the room following Naruto as he brought over a chair near the bed but not to close, how he turned off the lights yet didn't close the window, how he plopped down into the chair and closed his eyes. He didn't know how long he stayed looking at him nor how long he tried to loosen the headband around his wrist until a sudden urge made itself known to the Uchiha.

"Naruto."

He whispered. Noticing the blond didn't move an inch at his voice he tried again and again until Naruto stirred and cobalt eyes slowly appeared.

"What?"

His voice was slurred with sleep and his back arched as he stretched his body that had slept for so long in the stiff wooden chair.

"I need...to...use the restroom."

Naruto nodded all the way to the other side of the room where the bathroom door was and flicked on the light and releasing Sasuke's feet from the sheets he waited for the Uchiha to stand but all he got back was a strong, unwavering stare.

"Well? Get up."

Sasuke wriggled on the bed for a few seconds before he plopped back down on the bed, gasping as if he had just ran a marathon.

"I can't."

Naruto rubbed his eyes in exhaustion, the two days walk across the desert finally catching up to him. Why shouldn't he help him? His hands were bound so he couldn't do much and with that thought Naruto lifted Sasuke up and leaning on the blond the two trekked towards the bathroom with Naruto grunting at the added weight. Sasuke stood in front of the toilet, a conniving smile on his face as he rounded to look at the blond whom leaned against the wall, eyes closed and mouth hanging open as his mind tried to drift off to sleep.

"Naruto?"

The blond jerked awake, seeming fully alert for a moment, before his eyelids slid down once again. He hummed and could faintly hear Sasuke saying something.

"What is it now?"

"I need my hands."

Something in his mind warned him something was wrong but sleep overcame that bell and he nodded sleepily as he untied his headband from the Uchiha's wrist. The headband clanged loudly on the bathroom's tiled floor and a loud grunt came out of his mouth as his back collided with the wall. He was instantly awake, his hands shot out in front of him, looking for his attacker with blind movements until he was met with glowing scarlet eyes.

Hands roamed at every possible inch they could touch and Sasuke wasted no time in trying to touch skin, to find a way to get closer to whatever goal his foggy mind wanted. His eyes zeroed in on a tanned neck and he latched on like a leech would, biting and sucking and everything in between. Naruto clawed at the Uchiha's hands that pinned his body against the wall and gasped in pain when Sasuke had bit him hard.

"Get...off!"

Naruto gripped on the ends of his head and pulled back in hopes of unlatching the Uchiha's greedy lips but all that caused was Sasuke to release a loud wanton moan that would make any whore jealous. The sound made his movements halt and for that moment he allowed the other to do whatever he wanted and Sasuke did not waste those precious seconds. He pressed his body on him, hips grinding and rubbing and lips grasping at salty skin.

It felt as if his hunger had been satisfied; his thirst quenched and all he wanted was more. Hands trailed down the blonds body and was ever happy when his fingertips trailed down the rough texture of his pants, the prominent bulge sending sparks of delight up his arm.

That was what he wanted.

What he needed.

He placed his hand in between the blonds legs and found that he was holding a handful. Faintly, the sound of a gasp could be heard. He knew who it belonged to and seeing it as permission to continue the pad of his thumb skirted over the zipper, circles were drawn and his nail trailed patterns that caused the blond pressed against him to squirm. His mind was foggy, only one thing in his mind stood out and just the thought of it made his knees knock together and crash down to the floor.

On his knees he had a perfect view of what he was looking for if only he could remember how a button was to be taken off. To busy fiddling with the button he didn't have a chance to dodge the punch sent his way or the fact it took him a full minute to finally notice he had been skidding on the bathroom floor with a painful ache blossoming on his right cheek. Naruto jumped on him and brought his fists down wherever he could hit the Uchiha.

"Damn it! Stop it already!"

The blond roared when his fist connected to the raven's chest. Sasuke didn't seem to mind it so much and just stared up at Naruto whose tears ran down whiskered cheeks as each punch gradually lost their strength until they just measly knocked on his bare chest in defeat. Salty droplets landed on Sasukes pale face as his hands stopped and he looked down at Sasuke with raw emotions only the blond could harbor towards him.

"You're not Sasuke. I want the normal Sasuke back. The silent, brooding and antisocial Sasuke. I don't want...you. I don't want you."

Even with such words leaving his lips Naruto saw the need behind those black orbs he knew all too well and pushing his pride aside for the moment he sighed.

"What will make you feel better Sasuke?"

The raven haired man gave the subtle grind of his hips which allowed the friction against Naruto to show him just how close they were.

"That's it huh? Alright Sasuke. I'll make you feel better and then you can return to normal."

Naruto placed all his weight on Sasuke's hips, pinning the man down and with one hand he held on to both the pale mans hands. His free hand reached behind him and slithered under the plain black boxers behind him and quickly found what he was looking for. Sasuke reacted immediately and flinched as the cold air of the bathroom hit his member but that was all forgotten as the stroking began, the fluttering touches and the tugs caused him to become a writhing mess. His toes curled as his hips naturally thrusted into the hand that was causing such pleasures and trying to get free from the hold that was on his wrists, he only succeeded in tightening their hold.

With eyes shut and mouth agape he didn't look at the blond who stared up at the ceiling, trying to push away the sounds of heady groans and the lusty moans. He didn't want to look down at the provocative expressions nor the effect he had on the man below him but he could tell this was coming to an end soon as Sasuke's movements increased. He could feel his whole body tense and Naruto could feel a warm substance trailing down his hand as Sasuke froze with his hips in mid air.

Releasing his hold on the Uchiha it took Naruto a moment to gather himself before he stood and washed his hands, rubbing his hands and pouring more soap every time he let the water run over them. When he turned the drain off he turned around and looked at Sasuke who was knocked out cold on the floor and still a mess.

He couldn't leave him like that.

Trudging back inside the room he rummaged through Sasuke's backpack and grabbed a random pair of briefs. He cleaned his friend up, as easily as he could without touching any skin and ran the rag down Sasuke's legs. Naruto grunted as he slid the pair of briefs on him, not an easy task seeing the Uchiha was practically dead weight. He lifted him up and placed him in the bed, wrapping the sheets around him as best as he could. Naruto sagged onto the chair just a few feet away from the bed and rubbed his face a couple of times trying to erase what he had just done.

The release of air that left through Naruto's lips was loud and expressed how tired he was even after so many hours of sleep. With heavy lids closing slowly he could still faintly hear the moans that had left pale lips.

* * *

**A/N**: PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT!

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading chapter seven! Just a few things:

(1) Shochu: is a distilled spirit with an alcohol content usually between 20-40 percent. It is commonly made from rice, sweet potatoes, wheat and/or sugar cane.

What do you think? I'm still trying to get used to writing them all...touchy and whatnot but I still squeal like a little girl when I actually type it (haha) But here is the thing: I hope this story reaches more than ten chapters because I have so many ideas that I'm dying to type but I can't do all of it at once. The reason for me telling you all this is because I was thinking of including my readers in an interesting little 'competition' if that is what one would call it.

I'll be truthful: I like lemons. Really, I don't mind them. I've gotten so used to them over the years that whenever I read one I'll react to it as I would to looking at a tree. (Is that even understandable? haha) The thing is though, I don't see the reason to include a lemon in any of my stories because I like try to built a relationship between the pair without the need to involve sex even though it is a natural part of life. I do it also for the challenge...I really do like challenges. Other than that, when the time comes (and I am letting you all know beforehand) I would like to ask all the fellow readers, for those who would like to participate, to write a lemon for this story. Now, no one HAS to do it and if you all say, "We don't want lemons! My virgin eyes would be defiled!" (which I highly doubt seeing as you ARE reading a NaruSasuNaru story) then perfectly fine with me, the story shall go on and life shall remain as usual.

I will admit that this chapter was sort of a lime, maybe just a few squirts (hehehehe) but that is as far as I go. Anyways, I would love to hear your comments and/or opinions and I would be more than glad to reply back.

Thank you again for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Kankuro had woken up early the next morning, how he had done it was something he himself was still trying to figure out, and made his way towards the lab where he had left the pot brewing with a strange black liquid, that was to be given to Sasuke, since last night. Pouring it in a thermos he had brought with him it had not taken him long before reaching the Kazekage building, its looming structure gave him a familiar and welcoming sensation. He trudged up the second floor and down the hallway to the second to last door and knocked.

Utter silence.

Knocking again he had not received a verbal reply and yet he still placed his hand on the doorknob and peaked his head inside.

"Morning."

Naruto didn't seem to acknowledge the fact someone had entered the room but the solemn look on the blonde's face made Kankuro feel uneasy. This was the one person who could wrap an arm around Gaara and not get sent a murderous gaze that said far more than Gaara would ever utter. In one of his drunken spurs when they had gone out to celebrate the day Temari announced she was pregnant Kankuro, with his alcohol infused mind and forgetting about possible dangers, had given Gaara the closest he had ever come to a brotherly hug causing the redhead to become as stiff as a rod.

Although Gaara hadn't said a word to why Kankuro was hugging him so tightly the brunet swore that there had been an odd sensation of sand wrapping around his ankle. Apart from all of that, to see Naruto not grinning or being the ditz he normally was caused Kankuro to question if something had happened to him in the short hours they had not seen each other.

It was when he entered that he took notice of a sprawled Uchiha looking as content as a cat would when appreciating a nap in the sun. He had never seen Sasuke so relaxed before but then again he wasn't really acting like his usual self.

"Oh Kankuro, you're here."

Naruto seemed to favor looking at Kankuro than the view out the open window he had been staring off just seconds ago. Kankuro, not liking the dazed expression the blond wore, shook the thermos and allowed the sloshing of liquid to take over the silence in the room.

"I brought this for Sasuke to drink. It's not going to taste an awful good but it should have him back to normal in a matter of hours. Just fill the cup up and let him at it."

Naruto took hold of the thermos as if it was an object that would easily break at the slightest touch and seemed to cradle it almost as if it was a child. That had convinced Kankuro that something was definitely wrong with Naruto.

"Thanks Kankuro and sorry to have you do all of this."

With a low tone, his words were practically whispered as he slumped back in his chair and closed his eyes. Kankuro just had to ask.

"Uh are you alright?"

Naruto nodded, just a slight movement of his head, and said, "Just tired 's all."

Kankuro nodded and turned away, walking out before giving Naruto a slight bow. Although the blond insisted it wasn't needed whenever Kankuro bowed in respect, there had been no complaint from him this time. Back inside the room Naruto dozed off for what seemed mere seconds before he awoke again just as Sasuke began to stir. The blond stood from his chair and unscrewed the thermos cap and cringed at the smell. It reminded him of Ino's home cooking, the smell putrid and made one wonder if it was really edible.

Naruto held the back of the brunets head and tilted it a upwards and placed the rim of the plastic top against pale parted lips, the black liquid slipping in little by little. Sasuke gulped it down without hesitation and even seemed to be enjoying the taste of it until the cup was drained and placed back on the thermos. Naruto left specific instructions to a sleepy Kiba and a snoring Akamaru of the plans for later that afternoon and how he expected both of them, and Akamaru of course, at the Kazekage's building later on for a meeting between the elders and the Kazekage. He made it known to the Inuzuka how he wanted them to step in for Shikamaru who was off in the Village Hidden of Cloud talking with the Raikage about important matters. With that the blond was off and set on being anywhere that wasn't with the Uchiha.

* * *

Naruto had spent the next two weeks in avoiding the Uchiha whenever possible. His days were mostly spent hanging out with the Sand siblings or accompanying Gaara to the training grounds where many times Naruto ended up laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his head in shame with Temari screaming at the two of them for destroying most of the fields. He found it hilarious how Temari had once grabbed onto both their ears and had been dragged back to the building. What he found even funnier was how Gaara took the small punishment without complaint when years back no one would have even dared to touch the redhead.

When he wasn't out training he and Kankuro would go out to some of the best bars in the village late at night with Kiba tagging along. Sasuke...Well, Sasuke was a different story.

Simply put, Sasuke was mad.

Although his neutral face had everyone none the wiser, inside he was seething from how the blond was ignoring him every chance he got. He had woken up the next morning with a hazy mind but his body felt satisfied as he stretched on the all too comfortable bed. It was hot in the room, stifling even, from the immense heat coming from outside and he silently cursed himself as he closed the windows and rushed over to the bathroom to satisfy his urgently pressing situation. Why he needed to urinate so much had him trying to recollect anything that he might have drank or eaten beforehand but all that came to mind was the smell of something foul.

Naruto seemed to dodge him whenever possible and Sasuke couldn't even lift a hand to stop him seeing there was always someone with him. The next few weeks were spent in silence and with a brooding Sasuke that remained confused on why he was being ignored. It was at the end of the third week where they had received a Hawk from Sakura threatening that some very specific parts were going to be cut away from the blond if he didn't return from Sunagakure soon seeing that Sakura had finally realized that the least he was doing was strengthening any ties. Gulping excessively loud Naruto rushed Kiba and Sasuke to pack their things up and with quick goodbyes the three ninjas were running through the desert and Sasuke swore they had made it to the village in record time.

Sakura had been waiting by the gates for them and with glares that rivaled Sasukes and without hesitation she took the blonds ear in a tight grip and it had been a long time after that before anyone saw Naruto. In the meanwhile Sasuke took missions, giving the blond the space he apparently needed. It felt soothing to be out in the battlefield again even though his squad were an interesting bunch they knew not to bother him and only talk to him about what the mission required of them.

"Neko-san*."

Obsidian eyes turned to the squad captain, his badger mask hid his face and slightly muffled his voice. Sasuke had been off thinking about the blond idiot who had seemed to have become a distraction in the past few weeks and Sasuke was bothered by this. The idiot could cost him his life.

"Continue on Anaguma-san*."

The man nodded and looked at the circle the other Anbu members had created, all attentive at the new mission they had been assigned to.

"Our mission today is to find a man who has infiltrated Konohagakure and from a resource who wishes to remain anonymous, says that the man is a bounty hunter targeting the Hokage. He seems to be taking residence towards the west of the village and it has been said that he has been spotted in one of the brothels located over by the river and doesn't move far from it. Find the target and kill him on sight."

The west side of the village was where those lower than dirt took residence and was known as the red light district of Konohagakure. The man continued on saying some details about their target and passed around a photo of the man who was t

o be hunted down. With average looks, no wonder no one reported him in. Brown shaggy hair and dull brown eyes with graying whiskers around his jaw he appeared to be in his late thirties, early forties. Memorizing his face and storing it in his mind, Sasuke passed the picture to one of the newest members to be assigned to their group.

"We will be split up into groups of two. Teams 1 and 2 will take the northern section, 3 and 4 take to the east and 5 and 6 will go down in the western section."

While the captain split the others up once everyone was in their groups with an affirmative signal they all went their separate ways. Sprinting and jumping over rooftops, Sasuke could barely hear the footsteps of his partner but the chakra emanating from him was low yet enough to let him know he was to his right. For some reason Naruto popped into his head at the moment causing Sasuke to grunt as he tried to get the thoughts of the blond away from his mind when realizing the red light district a few yards away.

"I'll take the downtown area while you cover ahead of me and we will see if either of us can spot him."

His partner turned to him and nodded, not a single word uttered. Somersaulting off the tiled roofs and using the cover of the graying skies they hid behind a chimney of a house in the heart of the red light district. With red eyes swirling hundreds of chakra mists rose into the air, some placid while others twitched jerkily either with excitement or fear. With a nod sent to the other man, he disappeared and reappeared a few yards away. It hadn't taken long before the ear piece in Sasuke's ear crackled with his partners whisper and the Uchiha's eye turned towards the dingy buildings and he could just make out a running form heading his direction.

"_Don't move. He's mine."_

Sasuke was already making his way over to the man as the other man got into position. Sasuke jumped down to the ground and almost appeared like a serpent moving towards its prey. The Uchiha controlled his mind so that no emotions or resentment could surface while on the job. It was a requirement of any shinobi, not to show emotion or have feelings but it was even more needed when one worked for Anbu because the missions were always the same. Find your target and kill them without a second thought. They were highly trained assassins that were meant to be the best and the rush of adrenaline that coursed through his body caused a shiver to slide down his back; a feeling he hadn't felt in a while.

The man he was pursuing suddenly turned around, gripping his long, brown trench coat and brought his other arm in defense as the sword came down on him. The blade dug into his arm and he grunted as he pushed the brunet off.

"I'm not the man you are looking for! Someone has been fram-"

The man didn't get to finish seeing Sasuke had attacked him twice during the time he had been talking with the first swing it had hit his shoulder and he had gripped the blade which, already slicked with blood, had embedded itself in his hand. The second time Sasuke twisted the blade and brought it to his side, almost as if he was holding a bat, and managed to nick the mans neck.

"Listen to me Anbu! I'm not-"

The final attack was what silenced him. The blade had swung down and sliced his head cleanly off. The body stood for just a few seconds until it finally realized that it was without a head and dropped to its knees and tilted to the right on the dirt. All the meanwhile, its grip on its coat didn't lessen and it was just now when Sasuke realized that it was slightly bulky. It wouldn't be much of a surprise that the man had stolen something by the way he had been running away.

His partner dropped by next to him, his dragon mask hiding any expression. Sasuke knelt down to the body, unlatching the stiff hand away from the coat. His skin was still warm and its neck trailed down with blood that in the dark looked black and it seeped into the white shirt.

_Holy shit. _

Was all that ran through his mind once he had finally parted the coat from the mans body. His mind didn't want to comprehend, didn't want to make sense of the small bundle that laid on the mans unmoving chest, how it squirmed from the rapidly diminishing heat, how its tiny mouth parted in a silent yawn. It was barely a few hours old, still pink from birth and when Sasuke peered in the darkness to catch a good look at the newborn, its black locks of hair that stood up were rough with dried blood.

"Oh God."

The man behind the dragon mask whispered. He felt his throat tighten as he lost the tight grip on his emotions. Sasuke gripped his head and pulled at his hair, eyes unmoving away from the child who seemed to fall back asleep, unaware of the eminent danger it had been in. It had barely begun to live and had almost met death, just a breath away from dying. Sasuke looked over to his partner waiting for _something _but all the man did was look down at the small body almost as if willing to believe it wasn't really there.

Thunder rumbled in the skies, a quick warning of what was to come. Just as it sounded, droplets pelted down from the heavens onto the earth and without thinking about it twice, the Uchiha threw himself over the dead mans body, effectively covering the child from the cold rain. His mind felt a little clearer as the chilling drops of water hit his skin.

"Neko-san, I need to get rid of the body."

The man didn't finish the sentence, instead he left it hanging with something that did not need to be said out loud. It wasn't just one body that they had to get rid off. There were two now, one guilty and the other innocent but it seemed that the child had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and was about to suffer because of it.

* * *

"Jeez, it's pouring outside."

Naruto stared out at the night sky that rumbled and lit up with lightning every now and then. He had had to get up and close the windows as they were bringing in water and had lost himself as he stared out at the village, _his_ village. He was almost done with the paperwork and was dying to head home and lay in his bed. As he looked out upon the many roofs that sheltered the citizens of Konohagakure his thoughts strayed over to Sasuke. He had been trying to place some distance in between the two until Naruto could finally forget that night but the more he tried to forget about it the more he thought of it and could distinctly hear the sounds that he would have never imagined those pale lips could release. He sighed as he rubbed his cheek, a bit irked at himself as he felt them heating up.

He wasn't sure how he felt towards Sasuke anymore. Sasuke and he had always seen each other as friends, almost like brothers whether the stoic Uchiha wanted to or not but after that night Naruto felt confused and annoyed at the thought of thinking of the Uchiha in such a provocative way and not feeling disgusted about it. When he closed his eyes he could almost feel the grind of hips against him and the wandering hands and-_oh_ he was sick in the head.

"Eh Hokage-sama? A-are you alright?"

Rin looked at the back of the newly appointed Hokage, a blush appearing on her face as he looked at her over his shoulder, baby blue eyes staring at her black ones.

"I'm fine Rin-chan, is there something you needed?"

The young woman shook her head, her long black hair following her movements. She was a pretty woman with pale skin yet dark looks that actually added to her appeal. Whenever Naruto laid eyes upon her he felt as if she reminded him of someone but he couldn't place his finger on who that person was.

"I was just going to say that maybe you should go home Hokage-sama. I'll finish up here for you."

Her shy smile caused a blush to appear on his face and for a moment the thought of Sasuke left him. There wasn't that much paperwork left and she was offering him a great deal.

"Thanks Rin-chan, you're the best."

The young woman turned a shade darker at the compliment and went to thank him but he was out of the window before she was able to open her mouth. The run back to his home took longer than usual because he decided to take his time and enjoy the strong winds and cold water. Nothing felt better than being out of that office. By the time he stood outside his door he was shaking like a leaf and had to brush his drenched bangs away from his eyes. Closing the door behind him he toed off his sandals and noticed another pair of sandals tossed to the side and immediately knew something was wrong. Sasuke never tossed his shoes, he often berated Naruto for doing so.

"Sasuke?"

The small apartment was eerily quiet and dark, the only light source was the lightning that struck every few seconds. He found Sasuke sitting on the floor of their shared room with his back resting against the wall, chest bare with only black cargos covering his lower half. Obsidian eyes looked up at the blond who stood by the entrance of the room, brow furrowed and worried as he stared down at the dead look.

"I was sent out on a mission today."

The words spilled out of Sasuke like a dam that had broken. The lack of emotion behind the sentence told Naruto he was holding it back and that was what was keeping him sane.

"How did it go?"

Naruto knelt down so that he and Sasuke were at eye level and the pain behind those black eyes had him stretching out his arms and cupping the mans cheeks, making him look at him and only him.

"I had to do something today Naruto. An action that was obvious and vital for the mission..."

A soft whimper interrupted Sasuke and the sigh that he released hit Naruto's face as a dark blond eyebrow rose in question. Sasuke seemed to slump into his hands and looked down as if in shame.

"But I couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her there."

His eyes moved to the side, taking Naruto's attention towards the bed. The pillow wasn't in its usual spot instead it laid on the left side of the small bed and when he peeked up he could make out a little body tucked under the green and orange covers with an old stuffed dinosaur that Naruto had never seen before. His mind was a bit slow at that moment until he finally realized what was lying in his bed was a child.

"Sasuke, there's a baby in my bed."

Sasuke tilted his head to look at Naruto who just looked to be in awe at the newborn in front of him. He would have found that fact that Naruto was whispering as if he said it any louder all of Konoha would know quite funny if he wasn't trying to keep his mind from going insane. He wasn't used to dealing with so many emotions at one time and the last time he had been in such a situation it had been the last fight his brother and he had ever had. A hesitant hand reached out towards the small body and fingertips lightly brushed against her back.

"I took her to the hospital first but Sakura wasn't there. Apparently she had to check on the elders...I didn't know where else to take her to."

She was so warm. Not warm enough to worry about but a pleasant temperature and she was _so_ tiny. Naruto had seen many children in his lifetime but never before one as small as her. Naruto stood erect suddenly and turned to Sasuke.

"Stop brooding Sasuke. I'm going to warm up some tea for us and we are going to talk about this."

Sasuke sighed once again and listened to the others footsteps and tensed when he felt a hand on his head, a gesture that felt hesitant at the thought of even touching him but gained its confidence with each passing second.

"You made the right choice Sasuke, you shouldn't bring yourself down because of it."

Naruto disappeared into the hallway and his footsteps indicated that he walked into the kitchen. It took him a moment to get his wits together before he stood up and making sure the infant couldn't roll off the bed he walked down the hallway and leaned against the frame that led to the kitchen. Naruto stood over the stove, his coat and sweater discarded over a clothe line that hung in the middle of the room to dry.

"She's really cute isn't she?"

He murmured as he brought out tea bags from a cupboard. The way he walked around the kitchen was all to natural, knowing ever nook and cranny of the apartment it was no surprise to Sasuke who was still getting used to having a 'home.'

"I killed her father."

The blond man halted his movements for a moment before turning the stove off and taking the kettle in his hands. As he poured the scalding water into two cups Naruto shrugged, seeming all to at ease with the topic.

"Did you kill him without a purpose?"

"He was the target."

"Than maybe instead of thinking of having taken a life think of how you saved one."

Something in Sasuke's eyes seemed to brighten at that. In a way Naruto was right. The child would have been cared for in a bad setting and God knows what the man would have done with the child or if he would have taken care of her correctly. He hadn't realized he had spaced out until he felt a pair of arms encircle around him, the steaming cups discarded on the wooden table. He placed a hand between them in hopes of creating some space but Naruto hugged him tighter which caused the Uchiha to sigh in defeat.

"You're so touchy."

Naruto chuckled, his warm breath hitting Sasuke's pale shoulder.

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?"

Sasuke stared at the wet blond spikes, the tanned neck that disappeared into a black t-shirt and the all to familiar smell mixed in with rain that defined Naruto. He allowed this moment of weakness from him to show as he hid on the blonds shoulder, allowing him to comfort him once again.

* * *

**A/N**:

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading chapter eight! Let me just say: my longest chapter as of YET! 4, 455 words...I am literally speechless. I had not realized how much I had written until I was about to post it and I literally thought, "Hmmm, can I break it into two chapters?" But then I realized it would have disrupted the mood I was going for. Alright, another little thing: if you have read any of my other stories you probably know that I put in kids in practically every story, if not all, because I love writing children plus they give the story a little flavor. I was kind of worried (again) about writing about Sasuke showing such strong emotions but hopefully I played it out well. I had rewritten this chapter about three or four times and the original had included both Naruto and Sasuke in the mission but I knew Naruto's decision would have been plain obvious while Sasuke gave me a much better dramatic tone that I thought would have been nice to add.

Also sorry, for the OC Rin because I really wanted to just use the characters of the Naruto Universe but then I remembered, Sakura works in the hospital most of the time and Shikamaru is Konoha's ambassador and those two would have been the best candidates but since they're too busy out came Rin (haha)

So please tell me what you think of this chapter and if you think it is going well or it is going down the drain. Your opinions are important!

Thank you again for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

"Naruto, why is there a baby in your arms?"

This wasn't what she had expected first thing in the morning. In her years at the hospital Sakura had seen many strange things enter through the Konohagakure Hospital but a newborn baby who was wrapped tightly in a old blue blanket and wore Naruto's old sleeping cap in which he had long overgrown on its head in the arms of her best friend was just added to the list. The odd cap was far to big on the small baby but it seemed to be doing its job in keeping it warm seeing the infant slept soundly in his arms. Sasuke was also there standing behind Naruto looking like the ever faithful body guard he had been assigned to be.

Naruto had the decency to grin as if this was all to normal and said, "Good morning Sakura-chan!" Sakura rose an eyebrow at his semi loud whisper and against better judgment she could feel her mouth rising in a smile.

"Naruto, you can talk normally. It's not going to hurt him."

"_Her_ Sakura-chan, Mayu-chan* is a a girl."

The pink haired woman shook her head in disbelief as Sasuke's body tensed and an angry expression appeared on his face.

"We are NOT naming her Mayu. Only YOU would think of naming her after something ramen related usuratonkachi."

The blond met Sasuske's glare with one just as menacing and the electricity between the glaring contest both men were having could practically be felt in the room.

"Can someone explain to me what you two are doing with a child?"

That broke their little contest and Naruto shifted the infant in his arms into a better position while he spoke.

"It's a long story that I'll have to tell you later. Could you take a look at her Sakura-chan? We want to make sure she's healthy."

He handed her the baby with such carefulness that it made her wonder if this wasn't the first time Naruto had ever held a baby. She placed Mayu, or so she was called, on one of the spare beds in her office in which she normally laid down during her breaks and passed her hand over her gently, a soft green light glowing from her hands.

"Everything seems to be fine. Has she eaten yet?"

The little girl squirmed as if she understood the word 'food' and begun fussing, her tiny face already turning pink.

"We weren't sure if regular milk would have been fine so..."

Naruto and Sasuke were already peering over her shoulders as she tried soothing the baby down and told them to hold her while she went over to the telephone on her desk.

"Hey Chie-san, would we by any chance have a wet nurse on staff today?...Could you send her over to my office pronto? Thank you."

Placing the phone back in its holder she was met with a confused blond.

"What's a wet nurse?"

Sakura sat on the bed, surprised that Naruto was already holding the child in his arms. She somehow looked as if she was meant to be in his arms.

"It's a woman who breast feeds infants. Judging by her size she can't be more than twenty-four hours old am I right?"

Naruto looked over to Sasuke who stood near him, eyes trained on the baby in his arms. When the Uchiha realized they were waiting for him to speak all he muttered was, "Yes."

"While we wait can you tell me now how you just walk in here with a newborn?"

Ever the impatient one, Sakura looked more like Tsunade at that moment than she would ever. The two always had a way of milking things out of people, Naruto thought with a roll of his eyes. Keeping the details to a minimum Naruto told her of how Sasuke had been out on a mission and happened to find her out in the streets and deciding not to leave the child abandoned like it had intentionally been he brought her back with him.

Sakura had a hard time believing that, not that she didn't believe Sasuke had a heart or anything but the story sounded a bit strange to her, almost a bit scripted. She wasn't able to voice her opinion though seeing someone had knocked on the door and when Sakura gave the OK to come in, a young woman walked in, bowing in greeting and claiming she had been sent here for a feeding.

Naruto and Sasuke found themselves outside in the hallway with Sakura telling them that she was going to keep the baby under watch and update them as soon as she could. With that the two took to the streets, Naruto having his morning walk around the village and Sasuke trailing after him as he did each and every morning. Konohagakure was just awakening yet Naruto welcomed the sounds of the early morning. They passed by the Yamanaka Flower shop and their old academy, kids ran passed them, plastic kunai knives in their hands and self made Anbu masks placed on their faces. Some would stop and talk to their Hokage, shouting questions or would look up at awe at the silent Uchiha.

Their mothers weren't far behind and they would come up to the blond and bow, with pink tinted faces at their young leader and a flustered Naruto would just laugh and bid them a good morning. They continued on until they arrived at the Hokage tower, taking the flights of stairs up until the very top floor.

"Good morning Hokage-sama."

"Good morning Rin-chan. How are you today?"

The young woman smiled and brought her long hair around her neck nervously as she looked up at the Hokage who now stood by her.

"Great Hokage-sama and yourself?"

He shrugged and closed the door to his office.

"Could be better. I could sure go for an Ichiraku bowl...or six."

Rin giggled and stopped in front of his desk. The petite woman was assigned to him during the process of becoming Rokudaime as his assistant; specially picked and trained by Shizune. Rin served to be purposeful and did her job well, not to mention she was quite pretty and the crush she had on him wasn't all that much of a secret. Naruto didn't seem to realize it though seeing he was fantasizing about swimming in a warm ramen bowl with unlimited broth.

"If you would like, I could go make a ramen run or so I heard Uchiha-san call it one day."

His eyes gleamed with happiness as he sat on his chair and a large grin set on his face.

"Thanks Rin-chan!"

She pressed her clipboard to her chest as her pink cheeks reddened to a dark shade of red. Sasuke stood by the desk as Rin began reciting the schedule for the day, reading off from her wooden clipboard and few words were exchanged between Naruto and her. He watched their interaction, knowing fully well how deeply interested the young woman was towards the oblivious blond while Naruto had once expressed to Sasuke that Rin had caught his eye one time or another yet the two never once initiated their relationship a step further.

"Mah~ I had totally forgotten about Kakashi-sensei coming by today."

Naruto rubbed his head with lips forming into a pout and a glum expression placed on his face. Sasuke felt the tilt of his lip becoming into a smirk at the thought of their old sensei. Whenever the silver haired jonin stopped by it was normally because of two reasons: either to give his scroll on another completed mission or to bother Naruto about the next book in the Icha Icha series and Sasuke was pretty sure it would be the latter. Rin smiled apologetically before Naruto dismissed her, and with a small click of the lock the woman disappeared behind the door.

The stack of paper wasn't as big as they normally were and Sasuke had found himself watching the blond stamp the appropriate files and place them in their tray, the look of concentration on his face made him want to laugh at Naruto because only he could make paper work look like rocket science.

"Why is it that I feel like you need to tell me something?"

Sasuke didn't seem surprised at this even though he had been boring holes onto the side of Naruto's head for quite some time. The gentle breeze from the outside drafted in from the open windows and for a while all that could be heard was the scribbling of Naruto's pen and the distant noises of the village.

"You've been avoiding me."

Naruto placed the paper he had been working on in the 'approved' tray and began reading the next one.

"What gave you that idea?"

He didn't like that Naruto wasn't looking at him while they spoke so instead he lightly tapped his fingers on the wooden desk, allowing the quiet atmosphere some relief.

"Ever since we had arrived from Suna you have avoided me as if I were the plague. Last night was the first time we've held a conversation in weeks."

Another paper was moved. Naruto tapped his pen for a moment as he read, eyes not once shifting towards the Uchiha because he knew where this conversation was going and he wasn't ready to talk about _that._ He had thought of what to say when, or even if, the topic had ever come up but for some reason at that moment everything he had thought of saying flew out the window and his mind drew blanks so he opted for the next best choice: pretend he had no idea what Sasuke was saying.

"Sasuke, you're being ridiculous. I've had a lot of work to do because Sakura-chan kept cracking her knuckles if I even _attempted_ to look up but if you had missed me that much you could have visited any time-"

Naruto didn't even flinch when his chair swerved and he was suddenly trapped by the Uchiha. Sasuke's face was pulled into a scowl and with narrowed eyes he hissed out, "Look at me when you talk to me."

The blond sighed, his warm breath hitting Sasuke's face due to their close proximity.

"My mind may be a bit hazy of certain events but it doesn't mean I've forgotten your little decision in trying to establish some 'normalcy' back to me."

Highly trained eyes caught the sudden tinge of pink over whiskered cheeks as Naruto's eyes shifted to the side.

"...You didn't seem to mind it."

A low mumble was his response, so low in fact that Sasuke had to strain his hearing to actually catch the words and his own words surprised the both of them.

"So what if I didn't?"

Naruto's blue eyes turned to him in shock. He surely must of heard wrong. Sasuke had to be kidding but no, there was no humor on the Uchiha's face.

"Sasuke what are you trying to get at-"

It happened all to quick. There was a light caress, a slight brush of lips, a quick slide of a tongue before Sasuke had retracted. Although he seemed indifferent to what he had just done his heart pounded and his breathing was a bit faster than normal and with Naruto just staring at him without a single expression on his face didn't make his racing heart go any slower. A loud groan was muffled as he was brought back, arms wrapped around his neck as he kneeled on the ground, his head bent as teeth clacked and sloppy noises were swapped in a hurry to claim dominance, to exert their feelings that were long overdue.

'_What are we doing?'_

_'This feels so right.'_

_'How long?'_

Sasuke's pale fingers clutched at the white and red robe as he felt fingers massage his scalp and when he had bit the blond's lower lip too hard, his head was tugged back and suddenly there was a body pressed against his. The chair seemed to protest as it was pushed away and Naruto had joined Sasuke on the ground and one of his knees slid one between the Uchiha's leg earning a growl from him. Labored breathing were the only sounds in the medium sized room as they took a moment to regain themselves. Naruto seemed like he couldn't hold back a grin as he stared at half lidded eyes and parted lips; Sasuke's usually pale face was flushed as he tried to slow his breathing.

Sasuke shifted when he noticed how unbearably tight his pants had become and winced when he felt Naruto's knee digging into his groin; the friction was actually quite pleasing. Naruto watched, almost in some sort of trance, as Sasuke slowly, almost achingly, grinded on his leg and while surprised at what the Uchiha was doing he found it quite intriguing the way he tried to accomplish some type of pleasure. Naruto couldn't help but laugh at his actions and laughed even harder when Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glare. Naruto pounced on him, trapping the other in between his arms and unashamedly grinded his hips against Sasuke's watching in awe as the brunet threw his head back and his lips parted in a silent gasp.

A knock on the door halted their quick paced movements.

"Who is it?"

Naruto flinched when he noticed his voice was a few octaves to high and he looked over his desk to see Kakashi peeking in, his eye turned upwards showing that he was smiling.

"It's your favorite sensei."

Kakashi strolled in with his hands in his pockets and his nonchalant demeanor. Their old sensei hadn't changed at all in the past years. He continued wearing his mask over his face and his headband over his left eye leaving his right eye the only piece of skin visible to the outside world.

"What are you doing on the ground?"

In a moment of hesitation Naruto looked towards Sasuke who seemed to be burning a whole through his desk and into Kakashi's skull but he was unmoving and didn't look like he was going to move anytime soon.

"Lost a contact?"

Kakashi's eyebrow rose in disbelief and in a tone one would use when talking with a small child said, "Naruto, you don't wear contacts." He knew Naruto had always been special, in some places more than others, but when it came to thinking on the spot lets just say it was a good thing they had paired him up with Sakura and Sasuke. The Uchiha on the floor had let his foot connect to the blonds aching groin almost as a punishment for the lame excuse. How was it that he had became Hokage again?

Naruto hissed in pain at the sensitive area and glared down at Sasuke for a moment before looking back at Kakashi.

"So Kakashi-sensei, how are you?"

The silver haired jonin contemplated on whether to tell Sasuke it was alright to come out but he guessed, theoretically, he had just done so.

"You know, you seem quite busy so how about I come by another time?"

Naruto seemed to actually consider to tell him not to go, not wanting to be rude and all but Kakashi was all ready turning around and heading towards the door.

"Good luck finding your contact."

Naruto released the breath he hadn't even known he was holding and with a proud grin looked at Sasuke who was now sitting and resting against his palms and looked at Naruto with an expression that looked as if he was contemplating the blonds intelligence.

"Hey, hey do you think he actually bought it?"

Naruto yelled out as Sasuke's hand connected with the back of his head.

"You really are an idiot."

And with that the mood was broken and their bickering ensued.

* * *

**A/N**:

(1) Mayu translates to '_sesame oil_' in English and is a topping in Tonkotsu ramen.

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading chapter nine! I was practically tearing my hair out because I had no idea on how to take their relationship to another level in a subtle way and not in a 'omg fuck like bunnies now' way so I ended up with this. Overall, I'm still not quite as happy with it, I feel more like I'm in a 50/50 with this chapter but I'll let you guys decide on how this chapter was written. I'm currently halfway finish with chapter 10 but knowing myself I know I'll probably rewrite the whole thing at least twice before even thinking of uploading it on here (haha).

Again thank you again for reading and remember, I would love to hear your opinions!


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors note:**

I am truly sorry if you thought this was an update but I am writing to you today because I wanted to tell you, as the reader, that Chapter 10 is being rewritten all over again. Why? Because I am not completely satisfied with it. Thanks to my Beta (Shout out for you Jen) I realized that not only did I make the mistake of updating JUST to update, which was something I shouldn't have done, but also the fact I have gotten quite an...infatuation (Has not yet bordered to obsession) with Glee has caused me to mix up characters with each other and I have come to realize that how I had written the original Chapter 10 was nothing of what it should have been. Expect it soon seeing as I am working on it now and the fact that I am working hard to the point where I can finally say with much confidence, "Yes, now it is done." I would like to thank you all for still following this story and for the reviews and favorites and just everything you have done so far and just in case I don't update before or after Christmas I would like to say Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.


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